Haunted Truths
by lenkid
Summary: Sequel to Thoughtful Gifts- *FINAL CHAPTER UP. STORY NOW COMPLETE* As Max and Logan finally find the time to develop their relationship, a new drug is discovered that is causing the X-5's to become exposed.
1. Ripple in the Pond

A/N- Here it is! The sequel to Thoughtful Gifts. Since so many people asked for one, I decided to try one, and here it is. I hope that you enjoy it as much as you did it's predecessor. 

Aimee- you rock for helping me out with this. Without you, there is no way it would have been printable. ;) Also, it'd be sadly lacking in the title area. :)

I don't own these characters, they are the sole property of James Cameron and FOX, and I'm just borrowing them, so don't sue me. I don't have any money anyways. ;)

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"You know, I'm not too impressed with you for loosing my favorite shirt." Max was swamped in one of Logan's old T-shirts, and was cocooned in a blanket, staring out into the night sky, as she sat beside him in his Aztec on their way home from their little getaway.

"It's not my fault."

"How is it not your fault? I seem to recall you being the one pulling it off my body, and promptly throwing it over your shoulder."

"I forgot where we were!"

"How could you forget? Nothing rocks as much as a boat does when you're having as much fun as we did." Max smiled coyly at Logan.

"I'll buy you another one, how does that sound?"

Max once again put on her face of mock anger. "That doesn't bring my shirt back, does it."

Logan looked over at Max and smiled. "No, but did you at least have fun?"

Max looked at Logan and allowed a sly grin to cross her face. "You could say that. And I have to say, you definitely kept your promise about this being a weekend that I'll never forget." Max looked away, and tipped her head slightly to one side. "Of course, how could I ever forget a weekend that includes my favorite shirt geting lost." The statement was simply dripping in Max's usual sarcasm.

Logan reached out with his one arm, and put it around Max's shoulders, pulling her into him. He kissed her lightly on the head, but kept his eyes on the road. They were nearing his building, and he didn't want to run the risk of crashing into any of the cars that were parked on the side of the road, if something were to 'distract' him. Replacements for some of those cars would be difficult to find if the original were ever to get involved in a crash. "Well, I'm glad that you'll never forget that weekend, because I know I won't."

Max snuggled closer to the warmth of Logan's body. "I must say, that was a very good fantasy." She pulled her head up so that she could look into Logan's eyes. "Are there any more of these fantasies floating around in your head?"

Logan looked at Max and smiled. "Of course, but you don't get to experience them yet."

Max started to pout. "Why not?"

"Because, if we did them all now, what would we do in the future?"

"You know, you could show me some of them now, and still have others for later."

"I don't think so, and nothing is going to get me to show you anything right now."

Max shifted her position so that she was kneeling on the seat, facing towards Logan. "We'll have to see about that." Max grabbed Logan's face in her hands and pulled him in for a very passionate kiss. 

Luckily, just before Max had shifted her positions and grabbed his face, Logan had managed to park the car so that he could divert all of his attention to the woman who had this incredible power over him. As passions flared, a thought flitted through Logan's mind. Pulling breathily away from Max, Logan tried to get the words to come out of his mouth. "We have... to..... get the bags..... upstairs."

Max smiled against Logan's lips. "All in good time Logan."

**************************

After a particularly fun elevator ride, Logan was now holding Max's body against the door with his own, while he furiously and passionately kissed her. Fully wrapped up in the moment, and because of the luggage that he held in his hands, Logan was having problems trying to open the door, and hold onto Max at the same time. Max, finally realizing the problems Logan was having with the door, pulled one of her hands out from under Logan's shirt and put it over his hand on the door handle, and helped him to open it, all the while never letting his mouth break contact with her own. The door finally flew open, causing the two of them to stumble into the apartment. Logan dropped the bags unceremoniously on the floor, and immediately, his newly freed hands flew up Max's shirt and he ripped both her shirt and her bra over her head as she quickly tried to undo the buttons on his shirt. The two never broke their lip lock as they backed into the bedroom. They were both so wrapped up in the moment that neither of them bothered to close the front door, or notice the dark figure that entered the room behind them.

***************************

Max laid down on top of Logan, and was just about to go after his pants when she suddenly stopped.

Breathing heavily, Logan looked up at Max. "What's....wrong?"

Max quickly got off of Logan, and went to his closet to grab a shirt. All of her senses were on full alert because she could sense someone else in the apartment. Completely forgetting about what she was just doing, Max allowed her training to overtake her. As she quietly stalked out of the bedroom, she put a hand up in the air to tell Logan to be quiet. "I hear someone." Max slipped out of the room, leaving Logan laying on the bed, in no position to see anyone at the moment. 

Logan laid back on the sheets, trying desperately to calm his racing heart, but having no progress whatsoever. He kept telling himself that they were in no danger, because Max could take care of everything. He let out a sigh, but not too loud, because he didn't want to alert the intruder that he was in the room. _He probably already knows I'm here, but maybe he'll forget. _

**************************

Max stalked out of Logan's room, keeping herself fully immersed in whatever shadows there were to find in the apartment. Whoever the intruder was, was good. Max couldn't see him, or her for that matter, anywhere. They were keeping to the shadows as well. Max went through the entire apartment, ending back near the door to Logan's room. She took a quick glance in and could see Logan, laying on the bed, with his chest rapidly rising and falling from their earlier exhersion. Max began to feel herself losing concentration, and she quickly looked back out into the hallway. She still couldn't find anyone, but she knew that someone was still there. _It's got to be Zack. Only he can avoid me this much, but why is he here? I KNOW that Lydecker isn't anywhere around here, so what's the dealio? Maybe something's wrong with one of the others! _Max straightened with her realization, and as soon as she did, someone grabbed her from behind. Her heart stopped for a split second, and she reached up to try to pry the arms off of her, but to no avail. She then relaxed in the familiar grip. "Zack. What are you doing here?" The arms dropped from their grasp on her, and Max was able to turn around and look directly into Zack's cold eyes.

"Maxie, what are you doing here?"

"I think I have more reason to be here than you. Besides, I asked first."

Zack looked down at what Max was wearing, and a wave of jealousy and anger overtook him as he recognized her shirt as one of Logan's. He quickly dissolved the feelings and got back to the task at hand, setting his face, and steeling himself against Max's emotions. "We have to get you out of here."

Max pulled away from Zack, and allowed her anger to fully rise. "What is it with you? Is that the only reason you ever come to see me? That's all you ever seem to do. You show up out of nowhere and tell me that I have to leave. Doesn't anything ever change with you? Can't you at least say, I don't know, maybe 'hello' before you tell me that I have to leave?" She began to pace the hallway, and after thinking for a second, grabbed Zack's arm and led him away from Logan's room to the couch in the living room. She sat down, and looked up at him as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Ok Zack. Why is it not safe this time, huh? And it better be good."

Zack glared at Max's apparent disinterest in him, and his being there. He lowered his voice so that any recording devices that may have been in the room would not be able to pick up what he was saying, and only Max would be able to hear his words. "In case you missed it, it seems that your little 'friend' is dealing with Lydecker. He called you out and said he knows where you are." Zack watched Max's face, and was surprised to say the least when she started to laugh.

"Zack, that was like three weeks ago. Aren't you a little late in bringing me this information?"

"Max, didn't you hear me? Lydecker knows where to find you."

"Of course I heard you. And I'm not concerned. I've dealt with the situation already, thank you very much. And anyway, how come it took you so long to come here?"

Zack turned away from Max. "I had things to do."

"Like what?"

"It doesn't matter."

Max smiled at Zack. "I think it does Zack. Were you giving into all that phony sentimentality crap you're always worried about?" She had to laugh when she saw the face he gave her as he turned around.

"If you must know, I was helping Jondy out of a jam."

This caught Max's attention. All of her sarcasm was lost, and all seriousness took over. "Jondy? Where is she? Is she ok?"

"She's fine, no thanks to you."

Max looked away, hurt at the words Zack said to her. She regained composure and once again looked at Zack. "I want to see her."

"No Max."

Max stood up and walked until her face was within inches of Zack's. "And why the hell not?"

"Because, you're a loose cannon Max, and I can't have you knowing the locations of everyone. I can't risk you being captured by Lydecker and spilling everything I've worked so hard to keep from him!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Lydecker seems to be set up on me, and I haven't been caught yet." Max stated this through gritted teeth.

"'Yet' is the operative word there Max. If you insist on staying here with him..." Zack motioned towards the door of Logan's bedroom. "..you're just asking to be caught. Especially if Lydecker is able to hack into Eyes Only, who knows what he can find out about you. Besides, we still haven't ruled out your buddy Logan's connection to that hack. He must've had something to do with it."

Max chose to ignore Zack's accusation of Logan. "Forget it Zack, I've told you too many times. I'm not leaving with you. I've built a life for myself here in Seattle, and I'm not leaving it."

"I'll take you to Jondy if you do."

This made Max start. If she left with Zack right now, she could see the one person she had been looking for ever since the escape. And if she was in trouble, now was as good a time as any to go see her. But in order to do that, she would have to leave Seattle, and, well, Logan. And that was something she just couldn't make herself do right now. 

"Why won't you just let me see her?" Max looked to Zack, but he wasn't going to budge. There was no way that he would let Max know of Jondy's location unless she was willing to leave her life behind to go on the lam with Zack. She looked to the floor, and whispered her response in an almost inaudible manner. "I can't go with you."

Zack, oblivious to Max's feelings leaned in towards her ear, and hissed into it. "You're throwing your life away Maxie, and I'm not going to be a part of it anymore." Zack pulled back, and walked away, leaving Max stunned. 

Before he was out of earshot however, Max began to speak to him. "That's fine Zack, I've survived without you this long, and I know I can do it even longer; as long as I have to. I'll find Jondy eventually, you know I will."

Zack stopped upon hearing Max's voice, thinking that maybe she had finally come to her senses and had reconsidered. However, when he heard her response, he continued towards the door, without even looking back, leaving Max by herself. Max stood stunned, and then as her emotions caught up with her, she fell on the couch, burying her head in her hands.

*************************** 

Logan stayed on the bed listening for any sort of motion coming from his apartment, but could hear none. _It's got to be someone from Manticore. No one can be as quiet as Max. _Logan continued to listen, and when he heard a scuffle, his heart began to race once again, but as soon as he heard Max's voice, he let out a breath of relief. _Of course it's Zack. It's always Zack. He's going to try to get her to leave again, and there's nothing I can do to stop her. _Logan felt like someone had stabbed him through the heart. Reluctantly, he got up off the bed to investigate the conversation, but remembering what he and Max were up to minutes before, he decided against it. Besides, the voices had gotten further away, so Max had obviously pulled Zack further into the apartment so that Logan wouldn't be able to overhear the conversation. Shrugging, Logan walked towards his bathroom, deciding to take a shower instead. After gathering up some pajamas and a towel, Logan went into the bathroom, and turned on the shower allowing the water to run so that it would be warm when he got in. He puttered around the bathroom for a few minutes, and then climbed into the hot water of the shower. As the hot water cascaded down the front of his body, washing away the sweat from his latest interaction with Max, Logan could feel the door of the shower slide open. As the cool air from the bathroom rushed into the steamy cubicle, a chill ran down his spine. His entire body tensed up as a cold, soft-skinned hand slid from his lower back to the base of his neck where it reached around to grab his face. The hand cupped around his chin, and pulled his head around. Logan closed his eyes and slowly turned around to face the owner of the hand. He opened his eyes, only to gaze down into the chocolate colored eyes of the one woman he felt complete with. She wrapped both hands around the back of his neck and pulled his head down so that his lips could meet her own. Logan tilted his head slightly, and as he closed the shower door with one hand, his other grabbed the back of her head and pulled her waiting lips to his. As the kiss finally broke, Logan found words coming out of his mouth. "How did your conversation with Zack go?"

Max put her head down so that she didn't have to look into Logan's eyes. "I don't want to talk about that right now. Is that ok?" Max looked up hoping to see acceptance in Logan's eyes, and that was exactly what she found. Smiling, she pulled his lips to hers once again, and whimpered slightly when he once again pulled away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just...you remember how you said that you wanted to experience a few more of my fantasies?"

"Yeah..."

"This is one of them."

Max looked into Logan's eyes which were filled with desire for her. "Well, why don't we make use of it then?"

Logan pulled Max even closer to him. "My thoughts exactly."

****************************

The next morning, as Max took a shower to get ready for work, Logan went to his desk to listen to the dozens of messages that had been left for him over the weekend. _Leave for a few days, and everyone and everything decides to need help or create trouble at the same time. _Logan half-hazardly listened to the first few messages that were mostly some of his informants checking in. A couple were wrong numbers, and one was a particularly erotic one from none other than the girl who was now standing in his shower. _When on earth did she do this? Oh well, whenever it was, it's being saved, that's for sure. _After making sure the message was saved, Logan continued through the messages. As he neared the end of the run, one message in particular, caught his attention.

__

Logan, this is Matt. I've got something that your Eyes Only guy might be interested in looking at. Apparently someone has been tampering with the water supply of a few majors cities in the western states. It seems to be some kind of truth serum. A group of government people have been going around asking questions, and have brought in a few kids, who have never been seen again. That's about the only information that I've gotten so far, but if you want me to look into it further just give me a call.

Logan turned off his answering machine so that he could absorb the information that he had just received. If this was true, and if Max ever drank some of this water, she could fall into the hands of these government people, who were more than likely Manticore. The sudden sound of Max's voice broke Logan out of his thoughts.

"That's what Zack was talking about."

Logan turned to see Max standing in the doorway wearing only a towel, which was wrapped tightly around her body. Normally this would have sent his head spinning, but he was too focused on work right now. "What?"

"Last night, when Zack was here, he said that Jondy was in trouble. That's why it took him so long to come and see me. What if she lived somewhere in the western states and drank that water? Lydecker could have found her."

Logan could see the fear creep through Max's eyes. "Did he say if he was able to help her?"

"Not exactly, but he told me that I could see her if I left with him right then and there."

Logan's fears from the previous night had just been confirmed. Zack had in fact come to take Max away, but she had turned him down, making Logan feel ten times better, and now understanding Max's reluctance to talk about her conversation last night. "That's why you didn't want to talk about it last night then. Obviously you told him to shove it."

Max crossed the room so that she could sit down on Logan's lap. "Of course I did. I couldn't leave you. But now I know why he wanted me to go. He didn't want me to drink any of that water. Why didn't he just tell me?"

"Max, Zack isn't exactly the most forward person in this world."

"But still, not telling me was putting me in danger."

"That's true, but Zack has his reasons for everything." Logan looked towards his computer screen as a message came in. "What's this?"

Max got off of his lap so that he could have easier access to his keyboard and watched as he pulled up the message. "What's that?"

"It looks like a girl in San Francisco was caught trying to break out of custody. Reports say that she was being helped by a young male."

"Do you think...?"

Logan turned to Max with concern very apparent in his eyes. "Max, whatever you do, do not drink any water from now on. Stick to milk or something until we figure this out."

****************************


	2. Talk to Me

A/N- Ok, I FINALLY got the next chapter out. This took me forever to write, because I was having a horrible time trying to make it sound believable. You can all thank the mad editing skills of AJQuest for making this chapter readable. ;) She helped me out immensely. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and maybe I can get out the next one by next week.

- You know I have to do this, Aimee, you rock for helping me with this. :)

And now, on with the show!

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"Milk?! Logan, as much as I like milk, I NEED my coffee. You know what I'm like without it."

Logan held out his arms to Max, inviting her to settle on his lap once again. As Max snuggled into him, he held her close and kissed her softly on the head. "And why do you NEED your coffee?"

Max put her arms over Logan's, and tucked her legs up onto his lap. "I need something to wake me up in the morning."

"I think I can think of something to help you wake up in the morning."

Max tilted her head back so that she could look up at Logan. "Oh really? And what would that be?"

Instead of replying, Logan simply allowed a sinful grin to play across his face, leaving Max to fill in the blanks on what he was suggesting.

Max quickly clued into what Logan was suggesting, and playfully hit him on the chest. "Logan!"

Logan mocked surprise. "What?"

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Max walked into Jam Pony that morning with a grin on her face that no one would be able to remove. Not only had she had one of the most memorable weekends of her life, her latest workout with Logan was simply amazing. Even the knowledge that she couldn't have coffee, failed to put a damper on her morning mood. Logan was right. He DID have something that would wake her up in the morning. And, if she was able to wake up to that every morning, she would be one happy girl. As Max walked in the door, Normal tossed her a package, that she neatly caught. Not even bothering to look at the address on the package, Max walked to the back of the building to her locker. As soon as she opened it, Original Cindy walked up beside her. 

"Hey boo! Didn't hear you come in last night. Or, leave this morning for that matter."

Max smiled into her locker, not even looking at her friend. "Oh, so you've moved in then?"

"Yeah, Kendra helped me while you were away this weekend, and at this point in time, Original Cindy is quite sure she is off banging the gong with that Mr. Multiples of hers."

"Ugh, don't even try to put that picture in my head. That's one image I can live without."

"Yeah, well, so can Original Cindy, but don't you go all changing the subject here. We want details as to why my home girl decided to not come home last night."

Max sighed, closed her locker and sat down on the bench that was right behind her. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I?"

"Damn straight, now spill."

Max was about to start, when Normal came in, saving her from her explanation. _Sometimes that guy does come in handy._

"Max, I gave you a package already this morning, and you haven't even looked at the address. Is it really that hard to get on your bike and ride over to deliver this?"

Max began to reply, but Cindy cut her off. "Normal, didn't you get much sleep last night? I mean, my home girl here already delivered that package, and this is another one that you gave her."

"I don't recall doing anything of the sort."

"Well it's true. See? This one has a different address." Cindy held up the package for a brief second, and then pulled it down again before Normal could get a good look at the address. Normal looked to Max to see her reaction, only to get a small smile and a shrug of the shoulders out of her. Seeing that there was no way he was going to win this battle, he sighed, and walked off, screaming at a couple of riders who had just crashed their bikes into each other, right in front of the sign that said "no riding indoors." "Can't you people read!"

Original Cindy turned to Max. "Aiight, Original Cindy just bought you some extra time, so these details betta be worth it."

__

I still don't feel like telling everything that went on this weekend. It makes it a little bit more special that way. Maybe I'll tell her the whole story tonight. For now, I'll just give her something to make it through the day. "Well, the reason why I didn't come home last night was because we left kind of late from the cabin, and on the way back, the Aztek got a flat, and we had to fix it. By the time we got into the city, it was so late that I just decided to crash at Logan's."

"Mmm hmmm." Original Cindy raised an eyebrow, fully not buying the story that Max was sprouting to her.

"What?"

"Yeah, and that's why you've got a grin on your face like you just got a visit from Santa Claus."

"What? I got a good sleep is all."

"Yeah, or lack there of."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Girl, you can make it mean whateva you want it to. Original Cindy knows what you two got down to last night, and is going wit that. Now, a girl's gotta make some chedda, so, see you for lunch?"

"Yeah, why not?" Max just shook her head as she watched Cindy walk off. _There is nothing in this world that I can hide from that girl._

****************************

Logan stepped out of his second shower that morning. The first one didn't really count, because, well, he and Max had gotten a little 'distracted'. After getting ready, Logan went out into the kitchen and made himself a light lunch. When that was done, he decided to get down to work and see what was up with this tampering of the water supplies in the major cities. _I have to get this figured out soon, because I don't want Max to accidentally drink some of this water, and then go spouting off about how she's a genetically revved up female. I think that that would throw up some red flags no matter where she was when she said that. _Logan began hacking into some of the major cities' records, and couldn't find anything that would be of any use. He kept going back to the message that had come in that morning about the attempted escape. _I wonder if this was Jondy and Zack. But like Max said, why didn't he warn her? He must've known that she would come in contact with this water sooner or later, and would be caught. There's got to be something else going on here that I'm missing. Maybe I'll call Matt, and see if he's got anything else. _Logan picked up the phone and dialed. After a few rings, someone picked up. "Hi, I'd like to talk to Detective Matt Sung? Ok, thank you." Logan continued to type away at different records while he waited for Matt to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Matt, it's Logan."

"Oh hey Logan, what can I do for you?"

"Well, it's actually about that water tampering scandal that you left me the information on. My guy is extremely interested in this, and was wondering if you had anything else on it?"

"Actually, I do. I figured that this would be something that Eyes Only would be interested in, so I've done some digging. Apparently this truth serum, or whatever it is, is proving to be a double-edged sword for the police in the affected areas. People are coming out of nowhere, confessing to crimes that they have committed. The only problem is, the jails are so flooded with convicts, there's no room to put these people. As well, with all the crooked cops out there, they themselves are confessing to crimes they've committed, causing even more problems in the districts."

"Wow. Sounds kind of interesting."

"It gets better. You know these government groups that I told you about?"

"Yeah."  


"Well apparently, they're setting up some kind of marriage counseling conferences all over the place. Their advertisement promises that with everyone telling the truth, this is the perfect opportunity to find out what is really going on in your significant other's mind. The whole thing is apparently trying to get these couples to deal with their problems, but it seems to be a front for something deeper. Reports are that a few people who have gone to the conferences have never returned."

"Really. That's interesting. Have you found anything else?"

"No, that's it so far. Would you like me to keep looking?"

"That'd be great Matt. Oh, and, do you think you could get me some dates and places of a few of these conferences? They might be worth looking into more closely."

"Yeah, sure. I actually have some information on them right in front of me here. According to this, there's a conference starting this coming weekend in Portland that runs for two days. I'll see if I can find some more dates for you."

"Thanks Matt." Logan pressed the button on his computer that turned off the phone. He pulled the earpiece out of his ear, and put it down on the table. He ran his fingers through his hair, and let his head stay in his hands. _How on earth am I going to get Max to go to one of these things. Well, it's a bit of research for finding her siblings. Maybe she'll be willing to do it, I'll call her and see. _ Logan picked up his phone and dialed her pager, and put in his number. After he hung up, all he had to do was wait.

**********************

Sitting by herself at a marriage counseling conference was bad enough, but it didn't help that she had to clip her hair up, wear glasses, and try to look comfortable in a lot of short summer dresses that were so uncharacteristically her. Max was pissed. Not only because she had to basically 'dress the part', but also because she and Logan just had their first big fight. Sure they had always argued before, but it have never come to them not speaking to each other for more than a day. The argument had happened soon after Max had arrived at Logan's the day he had paged her. She had walked in and he was in his office, at his computer, and had listen to Logan explain all about the marriage counseling conferences, and how some of the people who attended them, had never come back. After listening to Logan's ideas on the conferences, Max had agreed with him that Lydecker was probably behind the conferences, and that it was a good idea that she and Logan go to the one in Portland to try to see if that was the case. Max and Logan had worked on a plan as to what they would do while at the conference, and after a lot of talking, Max had left Logan working on his computer, while she went to the living room to look out the window to think about her siblings. Entirely lost in her thoughts, Max didn't hear Logan come up behind her. After finishing making reservations at the hotel for the weekend, Logan had felt that he needed some time away from work, and Max was the perfect distraction. Coming up behind her, Logan wrapped his arms around her waist, and began to nuzzle her neck. Not in the mood for what Logan obviously had in mind, Max had ripped away from Logan's grasp, and asked him how he could think of doing something like that when her siblings were so obviously in danger. Logan had countered with the fact that she was dwelling too much on something that she couldn't control, and that she should focus on herself a little more often. Logan's comment hit a nerve with Max. No matter what was going on in her life, helping her siblings always came first, and he should have known that by now. Max let a few choice words slip by that she shouldn't have, and after a few minutes of yelling back and forth with Logan, Max had stormed out of his apartment, and went right back to her own. Being the proud person that she was, Max never wanted to be the first to apologize, and Logan didn't want to either. Assuming that their plans for the weekend were still on, Max had packed her things, and rode her motorcycle to Portland, expecting Logan to already be there. The thing was, he wasn't, and now here she was, sitting in on a marriage counseling conference session, and her so-called 'husband' was no where to be found. _Perfect, just perfect. I can't believe Logan had the guts not to show. Typical male. Now, here I am, flying solo, and I really don't want to be this time. _Max glanced around the room, and didn't see anyone that fit the profile of a government agent. _Just a lot of people with a lot of problems. Most of which will never be solved by going to a stupid conference. _Max sighed and felt her heart sink as the director announced that the next session would begin shortly. _How the hell am I supposed to confess all of my deepest feelings to my partner, when he isn't even here? Oh well, maybe I can just sit in the back and listen in to everyone else's deepest feelings. Should provide a laugh or two. _Max sat idly near the back of the room listening to the couples who went up on stage, talking things over with their spouse, in front of everyone.

"I figured I'd find you near the back."

Max didn't even bother to look at the speaker, but instead, kept watching the latest couple on stage, erupt in a massive argument. "Yeah well, I tend to try to stay innocuous when in large groups."

"I don't think anyone could forget someone like you, especially when you're wearing something as daring as that dress."

"A girls gotta look good." Max smiled as yet another couple walked off the stage in a fit of rage. Loosing the smirk on her face, Max continued to talk. "Nice of you to finally show up."

"Better late than never, right?"

Max finally turned to look the person right in the eye. "Cut the crap Logan. Where the hell have you been?"

Logan never even got the chance to answer.

"Oh, I see that number 358's spouse has finally decided to join us. Why don't you two come up now?" The mc of the conference motioned for Max and Logan towards the front of the room.

Logan leaned in to Max so that he could whisper in her ear. "Number 358?"

Max whispered back, while getting up out of her seat, grabbing Logan's hand, and keeping a fake smile on her face. "You'd understand if you had been here for registration." Max led Logan to the front of the room, and calmly walked on the stage. She could feel Logan's hand gripping hers more and more tightly the closer that they got to the front. _Oh, poor boy. He's getting nervous. I'll show him what nervous really feels like. If he thinks that he can stand me up and get away with it, he's got another thing coming. _Max sat down in the one chair, and Logan sat across from her. Logan gave her a nervous smile as the mc helped them to begin their discussion. 

"So, what has brought you two to this conference?"

Without skipping a beat, Max jumped right into her complaints. "Well, my *husband* here, never leaves his computer. All day long, all he does is sit at his computer and work. He never even looks at me when I come into the room when he's at that darn computer." Max smiled at Logan as a couple of boo's echoed throughout the room. "I'm worried that he's chatting online with another girl since he's so caught up in his computer. He used to be quite a ladies man a few years ago. Did you know that? Sometimes I think that I could just disappear and he wouldn't even notice." Max allowed a few tears to descend her face, so that she could get the audience to play more to her side. Logan looked like he was in shock when she said these words, because they both knew that they held some truth to it. 

"Well, now that we've heard number 358's side of the story, let's hear her husband's, shall we?"

Logan was flabbergasted and couldn't get the words out of his mouth. It didn't help that Max was starting to flirt with the mc. She was up to something, and he couldn't figure out what. It wasn't to get him jealous, was it? _Can't be. The only problem is, she's got the audience on her side. I hate it when she play acts like that. She can make herself turn into such a, well, girl. Oh well, here goes nothing. _"Well, my job is really demanding, so it requires a lot of work. But it doesn't help that every time I want some time alone with my wife, her brothers and sisters always need some kind of help, that she just has to provide, no matter the consequences." Logan was about to continue, when the mc interrupted him. _That's why Max was flirting with him, she wanted to make sure that he wouldn't let me talk for very long. I have a bad feeling this is not going to go too well._

"Ah, but sir, family is important to everyone." 

"That's right Lo.... ah, honey. You know how important my siblings are to me. I can't believe that you think I worry too much about them!" Max could feel her anger start to rise again, but there was no way in hell she'd have an argument about his in front of everyone. Besides, Lydecker could be out in the audience somewhere, and once he heard this girl say how much all of her siblings meant to her, it could throw up a few warning signals.

The mc chose this moment to break in. "Well, now that the two of you have voiced your concerns about the other, you should be able to talk things through more easily. Come to a compromise. Maybe you, number 358, could try to worry about your family only when your spouse is working, and in return, he will try to work a little less often. Do you think you two could come to some sort of compromise?"

Both Logan and Max looked at each other and smiled. Logan looked at the mc, who was only focusing in on Max. _Ok buddy, don't let your tongue hang out too far. We may be at a marriage counseling conference, but our relationship is stronger than ever. _"I think we can come up with something."

"Huh? Oh, good. Well, as with how we end all of these discussions, the two partners must tell their significant other some good qualities that they possess. It helps to bring the two that much closer together." The mc turned to Max. "So, number 358. What are the good things about your husband?" 

Max turned to look at Logan, and allowed a grin to cross her face. "Well, he writes the most amazing poetry. He let me read one of his poems, which was about me. It was so sweet." 

Logan could feel his face start to burn as the crowd let out an 'awe'. _ I knew this wouldn't turn out good. She's going to embarrass me for standing her up this weekend. I deserve this, but I don't know if I can handle the level of embarrassment she'll give me. She knows everything I'm uneasy about. The poetry was the big thing. What else can she throw at me?_

Max continued to talk. "I'd have to say the best part about him though, are those eyes of his that you can just get lost in, his scruffy beard, and those cute little glasses that make him look all sexy and intellectual." Max raised an eyebrow to Logan's and was pleased at the way he was starting to squirm in his seat.

"Well, and your reaction to that?"

Logan was at a loss for words. Max had just told everyone in that room exactly what she thought of him, and it was nothing but good thoughts. "She's the best girl in the world." Logan never broke the staring contest that he was having with Max, even as they both stood up. They left the stage, hand-in-hand, and walked back to their seats, listening to the mc as he told the audience that everyone would be able to be as happy together as number 358 and her husband. 

***********************

Logan was sitting on the bed, and was pulling off his shirt as he watched Max finish on the phone. The phone had been ringing when the two of them had made it back to the room, and after a great debate, Max had reluctantly answered the phone. As far as he could figure, it was Original Cindy, so Logan knew that he had awhile to himself. He couldn't believe what Max had said about him in front of everyone at that session. She had fully embarrassed him by mentioning his previous past with women, and his poetry. The parts that attracted her to him, also made him a bit uneasy, but after looking like an idiot for a humiliating five minutes, Max had finally led him off the stage, throwing him a wicked grin in the process. Logan knew that there was and underlying meaning to it. The two of them had managed to sneak out of the session, and had silently decided to come back to the room.

Max was busy talking to Original Cindy, telling her that for sure she would be back at work tomorrow, when some movement caught her eye. She turned to see Logan sitting on the bed, pulling his shirt off. Max's eyes almost bugged out of her head, and she quickly ended her conversation. As she locked eyes with Logan, Max crossed the distance to the bed, and quickly straddled his legs. Before he could even say anything, she attacked his neck, kissing and sucking at the same time, trying to mark her territory, so to speak, by giving him a hickey that only a genetically enhanced female could ever hope to give. Max pulled back to admire her handiwork, only to see a red spot about the size of her thumb, that was quickly receding.

"So, how did it come out?"

Not too pleased with the outcome of her effort, Max's reply came out more bitter than she had hoped. "I guess this is one task that Manticore failed to make me the best that I could be at."

Logan chuckled, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "It's ok." He slowly slid his hands under her shirt, and pulled it over her head, leaving Max with only her undershirt and pants on. He looked deep into her eyes, and then turned his full attention to her neck.

***********************

Logan and Max walked towards the restaurant to get something to eat. They both decided that they had better play it safe, and stick with only meat, because anything else could have been contaminated with the water. Max had on blue jeans and a black turtleneck, that helped to cover the very large bruise that spread across the side of her neck. As she unconsciously put her hand up to the injured area, Logan bent down slightly to give Max a quick peck on the head. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Finally I found something other than cooking that I'm better at."

As they turned into the restaurant, Max looked to Logan and gave him a pout. "Oh sure, kick a girl when she's down. And don't think for a second that I've forgiven you yet."

"Maybe we'll have to have another make-up session after dinner then."

Max smiled and turned to find a table. When she looked towards the table in the far back corner, which would be perfect for a mid-dinner necking without too many observers, the people that sat there made Max come to a standstill, and made her heart skip a few beats.

***************************** 

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	3. Distractions

A/N- FINALLY I got a new chapter up. It would have been out sooner, but I was fanfic.net was giving me some serious attitude problems. But, here it is, and I hope you enjoy it.

Aims- You rock.

***************************** 

Logan could feel Max tighten her grip on his hand when she abruptly stopped. "What's wrong?" Logan looked at Max when she didn't answer, and could see her staring at one of the tables in a far back corner. He followed her gaze, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw what Max was looking at. There, sitting at the table, trying very hard to blend in with the crowd, was Zack. Beside him sat a blonde haired girl, who looked to be about the same age as Max.

"Zack." Max breathed the word out so that it was almost inaudible. She was about to take off to get to him, but Logan pulled her back. She looked up at him in annoyance. "What?"

Logan leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear. "Don't look too eager to see him. You don't know who's in here. Any one of these people could be looking for a nice family reunion to alert them to possible X5 activity."

__

He's right. I can't believe I didn't think of that, but it's Zack, and he's sitting with someone. Is it Jondy? It'd have to be. Max looked up at Logan, and gave him a small smile, silently thanking him for always looking out for her. Especially when she was doing a poor job of looking out for herself. She gave Logan's hand a small squeeze, and led him to the table, all thoughts of a mid-dinner necking session completely forgotten. She and Logan made it to the table and sat down beside each other, with Max sitting across from Zack, and Logan sitting across the girl. "Zack. What are you doing here?"

Zack looked at Logan, and then turned to Max. "This is as far as we could get without sector passes."

Max looked to the girl that was sitting beside Zack. The girl gave Max a weak smile and then looked to Zack.

Zack looked at the girl and then to Max. "I know this isn't exactly under the best circumstances, but Max, this is Jondy."

Max swore her heart stopped, but she didn't have time to relish in meeting her long-lost sister. Instead, she gripped Logan's leg. Hard.

Logan jumped with the sudden pain that was emanating from his leg, and he carefully pried Max's fingers from his leg, while looking at Zack, who obviously knew what was going on between Logan and Max, and was not impressed.

"Jondy, it's so good to see you little sister." Max reached across the table and gripped Jondy's hand, all the while giving her a smile. "I'd hug you, but we don't know who's watching."

"I understand Max. It's ok."

"We can catch up on everything once we get you back to Seattle." Max let go of Jondy's hand and once again looked at Zack. "Speaking of Seattle, why aren't you there? Why are you here?"

Zack's face hardened into that of his soldier-boy look, and he looked directly into Max's eyes. A normal person would have been intimidated by his stare. Hell, most of the X5's were intimidated by it, but not Max. That made Zack even more proud of her than he already was. "After getting Jondy out of San Francisco, there was only so far we could go without sector passes. Normally we would have just jumped the fences, but it seems that a side effect of this truth serum, causes us to loose our abilities for awhile. Our objective was to get to Seattle to find you and break to Canada, but we couldn't get any further than Portland. I've been trying to call you all weekend, but apparently you were here all the time. I would have told you sooner, but I had to get back to Jondy." Zack stopped talking and looked at Logan before leaning across the table to whisper to Max. "That doesn't explain why you're here though. I didn't know that you and miracle boy here were having problems. You seemed fine the other night."

Anger bit through Max like a winter chill. _I can't believe he said that. _"*Logan* and I are not having problems. In fact, we were doing some recon on these conventions, because we got word that you two were captured, and we wanted to figure out a way to get you back."

Logan, who had been keeping quiet this whole time, chose this moment to let his thoughts be known. He shot a glare to Zack, then turned to Jondy and held out his hand across the table. "Well, since your siblings seem to feel that introductions are a thing of the past, I'll do them myself. I'm Logan, a good friend of Max's."

Jondy reached across the table to take Logan's hand. "Jondy. Nice to meet you Logan."

Logan pulled his hand back, reached under the table with it, and began to idly stroke Max's inner thigh. He could feel her tense, and then quickly relax under his touch. Normally the action would have caused both of them to ignite in a fit of passion, but now it was meant to simply relax the tension both were feeling at the moment. "Zack, I can call one of my sources to get you a couple of sector passes, but you won't see them for a few days. Max and I have to leave later on this afternoon, but I'll see if you can stay in our room until you get the passes. Then once you do, get to Seattle as soon as you can, and we'll see what we can do about this latest situation."

Max smiled to herself. Not only was Logan the best guy in the world, but he was smart too. As she was allowing her thoughts to wander, the waiter came to their table.

"Can I take your order?"

Logan looked at Max and then up at the waiter. "Actually, we've got to get back to our room to pack, but could you send two clubhouse sandwiches and two iced teas to room 315? And then whatever these two would like. Just bill my room for their food as well."

Jondy and Zack quickly told the waiter their orders, and watched him as he left.

"Ok Zack, Logan and I have to get going, but I'll see you in a couple of days." Max stood up and looked at Jondy who was watching Logan as he stood up. "And you Jondy. We've got some serious catching up to do."

"You know it! See you in a few Max."

Max and Logan walked out of the restaurant towards the elevator, and Max leaned into Logan's body. "You know, I think a certain sister of Zack's was checking you out, and it wasn't me because I couldn't concentrate when you had your hand on my leg."

Logan wrapped his arm around Max's waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head, and smiled. "You know, I think a certain sister of Zack's is jealous, and I know it's not Jondy because she's not here right now."

Max pulled away from Logan so that she could look up into Logan's eyes. When they made eye contact, she gave him a grin, and then leaned back into him as he pulled her close once more.

*************************

Jondy and Zack watched the happy couple leave the restaurant, and then turned to their drinks.

"So who exactly is this Logan?"

"Forget about it."

"When he said he was a 'good friend' of Max's, does he mean...."

"I said forget it."

Jondy watched Max and Logan until they got into the elevator, and then shook her head at Zack's obvious jealousy of Logan.

***********************

"Honey! Dinner!" _Wow, the last time I said that I definitely did not mean the term of endearment, but this time I do for sure. _Max signed for the room service, and wheeled the cart into the room. _This time I wouldn't have minded the can of whipped cream or the champagne. Hmmm, maybe when we get back to Seattle I'll see if I can find a can of whipped cream. Could be tough, but I think the ends will justify the means. _"Logan!" Max left the cart and went to the bathroom door. She could hear the shower on, but she couldn't figure out why Logan wasn't answering. Max knocked on the door. "Logan?" _Please don't be anything wrong with him. _"Ok Logan, I am entering this room in order to determine that you are safe and unharmed, so this can be construed by you in any way you wish."Max slowly turned the handle of the door and walked into the bathroom. Her heart stopped when she saw the empty shower, with the water still on. She walked a little bit further into the bathroom, and let out a yelp when she was grabbed from behind.

*************************

When he and Max had gotten back to their room, Logan had decided to take a shower while waiting for their meals to arrive. After standing under the hot stream of water for awhile, his thoughts began to drift to Max, like they normally did. And once again, he began to worry about her. She was getting really worried about her siblings, especially since there was nothing she could really do to help them. _I need a way to get her mind off of things for awhile. What can I do? Oh wait, did she just say dinner was here? Maybe not._

"Logan!"

She is calling me. Oh, I've got a great idea to get her mind off of things. She's going to kill me, but it'll be fun. Logan stepped out of the shower, careful to keep the water running. He could hear Max knock on the door, and he hid behind it.

"Logan?"

__

Why is she sounding worried?

"Ok Logan, I am entering this room in order to determine that you are safe and unharmed, so this can be construed by you in any way you wish."

__

I like the sound of that. Logan held his breath as the handle of the door began to slowly turn. Max walked in, and seemed to stop short when she saw the empty shower. Logan took this opportunity to grab Max and quickly pull her into the shower with him. He chuckled when he heard her yelp, and as soon as they were in the shower, he spun her around and pulled her close, ravaging her lips with his own. 

After a few moments and she was fully soaked, Max pulled away from Logan and hit him on the chest. "Don't scare me like that!"

Logan feigned hurt. "What?"

"I thought something had happened to you. The last time that I was sharing a hotel room with a guy and he went to take a shower, I walked in to find him gone, and later it turned out to be a really bad day."

Logan could see the pain flash across Max's face. He caressed her face, and pushed aside the few curls that were sticking to her face. "I'm sorry. But do you forgive me now?"

Max looked up at Logan, and then looked him up and down, grinning widely the entire time. "I don't know, this eerily reminds me of when you lost my favorite shirt in the water." Max glanced down at her clothes that were soaked, and getting heavy.

Logan could see what Max was thinking. "Let me help you out of those clothes. You must be soaked."

"Funny." Max began to pout. "Now I'm going to have to wait to eat so that I can take a shower."

Logan leaned down to nibble on Max's neck as he undid the buttons on her jeans. "And would that be so bad?"

Max held Logan's head to her neck, reveling in the sensations that his scruffy beard was creating along her body as Logan sucked her earlobe. "I guess not."

*************************

As Logan was checking out and making sure that their room would be reserved for Zack and Jondy, Max crept back to the restaurant to see if the two of them were still there. She looked to the table where they had all been sitting a few hours ago, but they were gone. _Must be looking around the city. _

"You ready?"

Max looked back to Logan. "Yeah, let's go. But, can you turn on the air-conditioning in the car? It's kind of warm to be wearing these turtlenecks."

Logan smiled at Max, and then headed towards the elevators that would take them to the parking garage.

*****************************

"Did you get anything?"

"Yes sir. It appears that there were three X5's at the conference in Portland. Reports are that they are meeting in Seattle in a few days."

"Very good soldier. Very good. You are dismissed." _This is just the opportunity I was looking for. I knew those conferences would eventually come in handy. It seems that Max and Zack are two of the X5's there, because none of the others would check these conferences out. _Lydecker leaned back in his chair, and crossed his hands behind his head. _You're all going to be mine once again. It's just a matter of time._

************************

Two Days Later:

"So this is the day you teach me to cook?" Max came up behind Logan as he was preparing some kind of heavenly meal for the two of them. It had been exceptionally warm the past few days, and with the fluctuations in power all over the city, there wasn't anywhere that was air-conditioned, including Logan's apartment. His place was cooler than Max's because it was so spacious, but it was still stifling in there. Max didn't mind though because since it was so hot, Logan had taken to wearing only shorts. No shirt, which gave her ample opportunities to rub her hands over his muscular chest.

Logan leaned back into Max. "That was the plan, but since it's so hot, I don't want to turn the oven on. Instead, I'm just going to make some sandwiches." Logan didn't mind the hot weather though, because it usually meant that Max would wear short shorts, and a bikini top, as she was wearing today. He spun around and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close. He looked at her neck, and noticed that it still held a faint bruise from their activities a few days earlier in the hotel.

"Darn, and I was so looking forward to it too."

"Hey, don't get all sarcastic with me."

"I'm not!"

"Mmmm hmmm. Anyways, I still have a job for you to do."

"So then I can't just lay around?"

"Not unless you don't want chocolate covered melon balls."

"Well why didn't you say so? Where's the stuff?"

Logan disentangled himself from Max, and pulled her beside him towards the bowl of chocolate sauce. "Here, you just have to stir this a bit, and then you can drizzle it on the melon." As Max started to stir the sauce, Logan continued putting all the ingredients on their sandwiches. "You know, I'm getting tired of it being so hot outside."

Max didn't look up, and kept stirring. "Hey, don't complain. Would you rather it be raining again?"

"No, but air-conditioning would be nice."

"You know, this would be a good hack for Eyes...." Max stopped talking when she saw what she had done. When she started talking, she had stopped stirring the sauce so that she could look at Logan. She had raised her hand quickly to help make her point and when she did, the sauce that was on her spoon, flew off, and landed on Logan's chest. "Whoops."

"Max, that stuff isn't cheap. We can't waste it like that."

Max put down her spoon without taking her eyes off Logan's chest. "Who said it's going to be wasted?" Max walked over to Logan, and leaned down to put her mouth on his stomach. She began to lick off the chocolately substance, much to Logan's great approval. Max could feel a groan start deep in Logan's chest, and looked up to see Logan with his eyes closed, and his face very flush with desire. Max smiled and reached over to the counter to grab the bowl of sauce. She dunked two fingers in it, and with the sauce that was now on her fingers, she drew down Logan's body, leaving a chocolate trail. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Max began to once again lick down Logan's body. As she licked down, she could feel Logan grab her head, and dig his hands through her hair. Max made it to the waistline of Logan's shorts, kneeled down, and was just drawing her hands up to undo the zipper when somebody 'ahemmed.' Max embarrassingly looked up to see Zack and Jondy standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Max cleared her throat. "Um Zack, why don't you wait in the living room." Max watched Zack and Jondy as they retreated into the living room.

"He certainly can pick the right moment to walk in, can't he?"

Max wrapped her arms around Logan's neck, and pulled him down so that his lips could meet hers. "Leave him alone. He is my brother after all."

"Yeah, but I was enjoying myself."

Max pulled away and looked down. "I can see that. Why don't you go wash up, and I'll finish making the sandwiches." Logan gave Max a quick peck on the lips, and turned to go, but was pulled back by Max. "I'll save some of the icing for later."

Logan grinned, and turned towards the bedroom.

Max watched Logan as he walked out, and then set in to finishing the sandwiches. On her way out to the living room, she stopped to grab a shirt. _We do have company now, so it's only polite._

***********************

"Wow Max, you're man can cook."

"Hey! I helped make those too you know."

Jondy smiled at Max. "Yeah, I know, but I'm just saying."

"He's awesome at cooking. Maybe if it cools down enough, you'll get to taste something that he actually cooked instead of just threw together. Zack, aren't you going to eat anything?"

Jondy leaned towards Max, and not so quietly whispered. "He's jealous of Logan, and doesn't want anything to do with him. Including his food."

The two girls smirked as Zack got up in a huff, and walked towards the window. Max picked up a sandwich off of the plate on the table, and put it on a plate for Zack. "Here Zack, Logan didn't even touch this one."

"Max, will you come here?"

Max turned towards Logan's voice. "Excuse me Jondy." Max got up while looking at Zack. "Make sure he eats something, ok?"

"Sure."

Max walked towards the bedroom, but then realized that Logan's voice had come from his computer room. She steered herself towards the room, and plopped down in her favorite chair. "What's up?"

"Look at this. What does that look like to you?" Logan pointed to a video playing on his computer screen.

Max leaned in and absorbed the image playing in front of her. "It's a bunch of military vehicles. Yeah, so?"

"So, that bunch of military vehicles is set up right outside your crib."

***********************************

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	4. Not Everything is as it Seems

A/N- Wow, I am so sorry that it has taken this long to get a new chapter out. I'm sure you can't even remember what has happened already. Don't worry, I had to go back and reread everything that I had written already. :) But, with fanfic.net being down and everything, I did have a chance to do some serious writing. I have a few more chapters already written, and some are even ready to be posted, so look for those in the next couple of days. So once again, sorry it's been so long since I posted, but I hope you'll like what I have in store for you. :)

Aimee- without you, this wouldn't make any sense at all. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this over and over and for telling me everything that sucked and seriously needed to be changed. ;)

So now, without further adieu.......

***********************************

She ran through the streets at break neck speed and kept glancing over her shoulder to see how far behind her the vehicles were. They were getting closer and closer, and no matter how fast she ran, they only seemed to go faster. Even with her super human speed, she was no match for a car. Especially one who's sole purpose was to catch her. She knew this, but she would never give up. Ever. She had gone back to her crib earlier that night, just to watch to see what was going on, and to make sure that no one she cared about was in trouble. All of that had gone horribly wrong though, and now she was on the run. As she was perched on a rooftop across the street, a stray searchlight had caught her. She had frozen for only a split second, but that was all they needed to see her. And, now they were after her. She turned corner after corner, weaving in and out of alleyways, stuck to all the shadows she could, but nothing seemed to be able to lose her pursuers. She was beginning to breathe more heavily, and was starting to slow just a bit. Her captors were getting closer, and suddenly a shot rang out, shattering the serine nightlife. She looked down to see the blood oozing out of her shirt. The spot was getting larger and darker, and she was beginning to loose her balance. She finally succumbed to the loss of blood, and fell to the sidewalk. Her pursuers caught up immediately, and some held guns to her head, as others roughly lifted her up, and tossed her in a van that had pulled up to the side of the road. The door closed with a loud bang, and the van peeled out of the light, heading down the street, leaving it once again quiet, as if nothing had ever happened.

****************************

Logan woke up with a start. Sweat was pouring down his face, and he was shaking in his twisted sheets. His eyes were refusing to allow him to see, but he forced them to focus. He didn't want to look, but he had to. Without turning his head, Logan just moved his eyes so that he could see if his dream had actually happened. _Please just let that be a dream. Please. _Max had gone out earlier that evening to check out her crib after she had seen the video of the military vehicles, but at the moment, Logan couldn't for the life of him, remember if she had made it home, no matter how hard he tried. His mind was running too fast for any coherent thoughts to develop. _It had to have been a dream. There's no way that that could have happened. There's just no way. _Logan's eyes crept along from the wall across from his bed, moving towards him, and sweeping towards the side of the bed beside him. There, wrapped tightly in the blankets, was his angel, sleeping soundly. _Thank God. _Logan whipped his head around, and fell back onto the bed, clutching onto her for dear life. She was alive and well, and was safely beside him, in his bed. Their bed.

Max woke with a start, and could feel Logan holding her tightly. "Mmmmm, Logan, what's wrong?" Max's voice was thick with sleep.

"I had a dream Max. I had a dream that you were caught tonight, and I didn't know what to do." Logan was almost frantic in telling Max what had happened.

Max rolled over so that she was on her back, and Logan laid his head on her chest, gripping her tightly. She looked into his eyes when he quickly glanced up at her, and could see the fear that was very evident in them. His dream seemed to have really been a bad one, and had genuinely scared him. Max was touched, but she was worried about him. Max reached up and began to run her fingers through Logan's hair. "It's ok Logan. It was just a bad dream. Everything's ok now. It's over."

Logan replied by simply holding Max tighter. Just feeling her in his arms made his heart begin to slow down, and he allowed sleep to once again overtake him.

Max watched Logan carefully as he drifted off into dreamland. Once he fell asleep, Max allowed her own eyes to close, but she couldn't sleep. After everything that had happened in the past few days, and with her normally erratic sleeping patterns, she could not reach the blissful escape of sleep once again. So instead, she just laid there on the bed, tucked safely in Logan's arms. 

***************************

"So Max, how did your stakeout go last night? I didn't even hear you come in."

Max padded into the kitchen with her fuzzy red robe tied tightly, and was hit immediately with the question from Jondy. She was a little taken aback by what Jondy had said. "You? Not hearing me come in? What's up with that?"

Jondy leaned back in her chair, and held up her hands. "Hey, say what you will, but I have never slept in a bed as comfortable as the one I slept in last night."

"Yeah, it is pretty comfy, isn't it?" Max walked over to the coffee pot, and smiled as she saw that Jondy had already made some coffee.

"You mean you've actually slept in the guest bed? How come? You and Logan had a fight?"

Max glanced up from her task of pouring herself a cup of coffee to shoot a glare over at Jondy. "No. We weren't always like how we are now. Whenever I got caught here after curfew, sometimes it would just be easier to crash in the guest room than try to avoid the sector police while on my way home."

"Ahhh. I was kind of wondering why there were some of your clothes in the closet in there."

Max took a sip of her coffee, and looked at Jondy over the rim of the cup. "You went through all my stuff?"

Jondy grinned. "A good soldier always knows their surroundings."

"Hmmm." Max began heading towards the table, and was pulling out the chair across from Jondy, as Jondy asked another question.

"So. Sleeping in that bed did not totally dull my senses. What happened with you and Logan last night? I was going to listen, but I figured you'd want your privacy." Jondy let a smirk cross her face.

Max sat down, shot a knowing look at Jondy, and took another swig of her coffee before she answered. "Oh, Logan just had a bad dream."

"About what?" Jondy pulled her one leg up towards her so that her knee was visible over the table. She wrapped her arms around it, and cupped her hands around her own cup of coffee.

"That I had gotten captured. He dreamt that it had happened while I was doing recon last night. It really scared him for some reason." Max narrowed her eyes as she looked away from Jondy. Thoughts as to why Logan had been so scared jumped around in her head.

"You do know why, don't you?"

"No, why?"

Jondy put down her cup, and lowered her leg so that she could lean across the table. "You two have finally taken that next to final step in your relationship. He cares about you so much, that he can't even fathom losing you. He needs to know that you are safe, no matter what, and he'll stop at nothing to make sure of that." Jondy glanced up over Max's shoulder, and leaned back in her chair.

Max shot Jondy a questioning look as to the glance, but her suspicions were confirmed when a strong pair of hands rested on her shoulders, and the telltale scruff of her significant other brushed against her face as he kissed her cheek.

Jondy smiled, and shot back the last couple of gulps of coffee she had left in her cup. She got up from her chair, and shot a smile towards Max and Logan as she walked out of the room. Jondy could hear Logan sit down as she walked away, and knew that it was the right thing to do, leaving those two alone. As she made it into the living room, she saw Zack out on the fire escape. She veered towards the window, and leaned out of it.

"What's up big bro?"

Zack didn't even turn to look at her. He simply continued watching the people run along the streets below, continuing on with their lives, scraping along to get by. 

Jondy climbed out of the window and sat next to him, looking out over the people that he was watching. She stayed quiet for a few minutes. Deep within the apartment, a door could be heard closing, and Jondy knew that Max was out of earshot range, so she tried talking to Zack again. "Spill it."

At this, Zack turned to look at her. "It's amazing how two people who have never met can be so similar."

Jondy turned her head so that her cheek was resting on her knees, that were tucked up to her chest, and were held together by her arms that were hugging her legs. "What do you mean?"

Zack looked away, and instead focused on a bird that was gliding by the fire escape.

Jondy could see Zack's jaw tighten as it always did when he didn't want to talk. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?" Jondy waited for a response, but when it became obvious that she wasn't going to get one, she continued on. "She's a good kid Zack. She can take care of herself."

"Don't you think I know that Jondy? Why do you think she's the only one that doesn't have the contact number?"

Jondy stiffened and scanned Zack's eyes for any sign that he was joking. Zack hardly ever did, but who was to say he wasn't this time? Not seeing any kind of humor behind his eyes, Jondy spoke, but her voice came out in only a whisper. "She never had the contact number? What if something had happened?"

Zack turned and glared at Jondy. "Like you said Jondy, she's a good kid, she can take care of herself."

"Hey. Don't get angry at me. I don't know what crawled higher up your butt than normal this morning, but that doesn't mean that you can go all military on me. I'm still your sister. Your younger sister at that, so that should give me a little bit of leeway with your wrath here." _I always was good at making Zack realize what a prick he's being. There look at that. He's starting to relax. Good. Maybe now I can figure out what the hell his problem is._

Zack looked out over the city again. "Max is going to get herself in trouble, and I'm not helping. I came here the night after I helped you out. I wanted to take her away. I told her that if she came with me, I'd take her to you."

Jondy chuckled. "Wow, that's got to make a girl feel good. Her boyfriend is more important to her than her own sister."

"See? That's exactly what is going to get her into trouble." Zack turned to look at Jondy, expecting to see understanding in her eyes, but he didn't get that at all.

Jondy narrowed her eyes. "Zack you moron, I was being sarcastic. You know, being funny? I don't fully understand why Max turned you down, it could be the fact that I'm sensing some serious sibling rivalry between the two of you, but I know that if I was in her position, I'd probably stay with my boyfriend too. I mean, it's stability. What if I had turned out to be a bitch or something? And knowing you, you probably gave her an ultimatum of giving everything up to go with you, or to give all of us up to stay. If she'd gone with you, she'd have made a huge mistake, and would be kicking herself everyday for making the choice she did. Personally, I think she made the best one, because, well, here I am!" Jondy smiled as she finished her monologue. _Zack is so not impressed with that little speech. Oh well, he needed to hear it._ "But I know you better than that Zack. What's up? Why are you so pissed off this morning?"

Zack looked away from Jondy and stared off down the street. It was awhile before he finally replied. "It would have been my fault that Max got caught. I didn't even tell her about the serum in the water. What if she had gotten some? I wouldn't have been here to help her."

"You know, it's not my fault that I....."

Zack looked right at Jondy. "Jondy stop. I'm not blaming this on you. It's just that... Max is making a mistake staying here. No matter how you or she feels. She should be moving on every once in awhile. I mean look. Lydecker is set up on her apartment. What if she was there? She could have been caught."

"Zack, don't you care how she feels?"

Zack stopped. "Of course I do. Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because Zack. Max has chosen to stay in one place for a long period of time, and in case you haven't noticed, she seems to be the most well off out of all of us. She has a job, she has great friends, she has someone who she cares deeply about, and who cares about her, and obviously she can take of herself. She has never come running to you for help. Ever. Not that she could, but still. Even if she needed it, she handled the situation on her own. As for the Lydecker thing? There's three of us here now, and Logan will help too. We can deal with this Zack, and we can help the rest of our siblings. So stop moping around, and go take a shower or something to cool off. We've got to get working on a plan here." Jondy stood up to crawl back into the apartment. She was fuming, and if she had spent any more time with Zack, she was sure she was going to kill him. When she got in, she could see Max deep in her own thoughts. Not wanting to disturb her, Jondy quietly made her way towards the guest bedroom.

*********************************

As Jondy walked out of the room, Logan sat down across from Max, and quietly began to read the paper. Max stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he never did. Sighing, she put down her cup of coffee, and pulled down the paper so that she could look into his eyes. "Logan, are you ok?"

Logan looked up at Max, and then promptly pulled the paper back up. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well, I am."

"Logan."

Logan roughly put the paper down on the table and looked Max straight in the eye. "You want to know what's wrong? Fine. I'll tell you what's wrong. Max, everyday I'm afraid that something is going to happen to you, and I can't even fathom what I would do if something did. That dream was just another reminder of how scared I am. Especially now. This situation just doesn't feel right, and I don't like it."

Max gave Logan a weak smile, because she figured that she would be able to handle this situation without too much of a problem. She leaned across the table, and put her hands over top of his. "Logan, it's going to be ok. I'm here, I'm ok, and everything's going to be fine. I can take care of myself, remember?"

Logan pulled away from Max's grip and stood up. He began to pace around the table, throwing his hands up in the air every once in awhile to help make his point. Max watched him carefully, because she was taken aback with his sudden change in mood. "That's just it Max. You have to let other people take care of you once in awhile. Let me help you sometimes. Don't always be thinking you can handle everything, because there will come a time when you won't be able to handle something by yourself."

"Logan..."

Logan stopped right in front of Max. "No. I don't want to talk about this now. I'm going to go and take a shower."

Max was left sitting stunned. _I've never seen Logan react to anything like this before. But he's right. Something isn't right. I don't like this situation one little bit. Like, how did Lydecker know where my crib was? No one knows where I live except for my peeps here in Seattle. And as far as we know, the water here hasn't been tainted yet. So how did he know where to look? The only other person who knows where I live is....Oh god. That can't be right. He would never do that. He would have known if he was drinking that tainted water, right? _Max's thoughts were interrupted as she heard movement coming from the window that led out to the fire escape. She looked up and tensed right away as she saw the look on Zack's face.

"There's about twenty military vehicles setting up shop right outside. Looks like your miracle boy there, really is in league with Lydecker."

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	5. This is For Your Own Good

A/N- Here ya go. As promised, the next chapter. I still have more on my desktop, so those will be coming out soon.

Aimee- thanks for the help girl. :)

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"Excuse me?"

Zack quickly crossed the room towards Max, and grabbed her shoulder. "Come on Max, we have to go. Now. We can't get caught."

Max pulled her shoulder back, wrenching free of Zack's grip on her. She narrowed her eyes, and looked right at him. "How do they know we're here Zack?"

Zack pulled himself to his full height, and raked his hand through his hair as he almost nervously looked towards the window. "I don't know Maxie, but they do. The only explanation is the one that I have been telling you for awhile now. Making ties with people will only get you in trouble, and it looks like your ties with Logan have served to not only get you in trouble, but it has served to get Jondy and I in trouble as well."

Max stood up, shoving her chair back in the process, and got right in Zack's face. "This has NOTHING to do with Logan at all. He had nothing to do with this. I have no idea how they know we're here, but that doesn't concern me now. What concerns me now is that we have to get out of here, and we have to get out of here fast. We can continue this discussion later." Max pushed past Zack and began making her way to Logan's bedroom to warn him and to get him out of there before they were all caught.. Before she made it to the door and before she knew what was happening, she could feel a prick in her arm. As the world began to fade away, the only thing that came to her ears was Zack's voice. "This is for your own good Maxie." Then, the world went dark.

********************************

Jondy was pacing around her room, deep in her own thoughts as she heard a chair fall in the kitchen. Snapping back into the real world, she realized that something was going down, and because of it, Max and Zack were practically screaming at each other. Jondy quickly walked to the door, and as soon as she turned the handle to open it, she could hear Zack whisper. "This is for your own good Maxie." Jondy ripped the door open to see an unconscious Max laying in the arms of Zack as he knelt on the floor. "Zack! What the hell are you doing?"

Zack looked up at Jondy, who had her hands on her hips, and was looking thoroughly pissed. Her stance didn't bother him in the slightest, and without answering her, and calmly gathered Max up in his arms, and stood up. Finally looking at Jondy who was now impatiently tapping her foot on the floor, he spoke. "Lydecker is setting up outside. We have to move. Now."

Jondy was taken aback with this bit of information. _Lydecker's set up outside? How did he know we were here? I thought Max said no one knew about this place. Maybe Zack was right in saying that this Logan couldn't be trusted. I mean, what do I really know about him? No Jondy, Max trusts him, so that means I can trust him too. But like I said earlier, a good soldier always knows her surroundings, and that includes the people in them. I'm not a soldier, but I still don't know enough about this Logan to make any judgments. _Jondy shook her head to clear her mind as she once again focused in on the unconscious form that was in Zack's arms.

Zack glared at her, and spoke crisply and authoritatively, going right into full CO mode. "Jondy, we have to go. No questions. I'll update you when the time is right." Zack turned towards the door, but then abruptly stopped. Instead, he looked up at the open skylight, and readied himself for the jump.

"Zack! What about Logan?" _I may not fully trust him, but Max does, and she'll be pissed if he's not with us._

"No questions." Zack looked again at the skylight, and effortlessly made the jump. He turned and began to run across the rooftop. Behind him, he could hear the silent footfalls of Jondy as she followed him. Together, they jumped across the buildings until they made it to the end of the high-rise district. Silently jumping off the final building, they ran along the streets, keeping to the shadows, in search of a car. After a few minutes, a small brown sedan could be seen sitting alone, with no one to protect it. Zack wordlessly commanded Jondy to hotwire it as he carefully laid Max down across the backseat. Jondy nodded her confirmation that the car was operational, and with her affirmative, Zack climbed into the driver seat, only waiting for Jondy to slide in next to him before speeding off. Neither of them looked back as the city faded behind them.

*********************************

Jondy leaned against the car door as she looked out the window at the passing scenery. She and Zack had only stopped once after getting in the car, and that was after they had safely made it out of Seattle. During that time, the two of them had had a screaming fight, and had tied Max up so that she didn't kill either of them when she woke up. Jondy sighed, thinking back to what had transpired during that argument.

****

Two Hours Prior

As the city faded into the distance, and the open roads of the north spread out in front of them, Zack finally pulled the car over to the side of the road. Thankful for a release from the tension, Jondy ripped open the door and bolted out of the car. She slammed the door behind her, and began to walk down the road away from the car. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, and thoughts were screaming through her head. As she heard another door open, Jondy turned to face the car, and pushed her hands through her hair to get it out of her face. She tucked the loose strands behind her ears, and while clenching her fists, she stormed back towards the car, her crystal green eyes glowing with rage. As she neared Zack, he turned to face her, and she roughly pushed him against the car. "Alight Zack. Spill it. Just what in the hell do you think you're doing? I can't believe this! What exactly is going through your little military brain right now?"

Zack pushed Jondy off of him, and walked around to the front of the car. "We were going to get caught Jondy, I couldn't let that happen. Not again."

"So you drugged Max? What exactly brought that idea on?"

"She wasn't willing to leave. She wanted Logan to come with us!"

"And why is that a bad thing exactly? I think I would want my boyfriend to come with me if I was in trouble, especially if the people I was running from were going to be invading his apartment in a few minutes."

"Because he's the reason they were invading his place. He'll be fine. He works for them, and I don't think that they would dispose of someone who had gained the absolute undying trust of an X5."

Jondy turned around in a circle and once again ran her hands through her hair in disbelief. "There is no way that you can actually believe that that is true."

Zack pointed at Jondy. "You said it yourself little sister, I drank that water and so everything I say must be true."

"Zack, that is such a lie! I know you had that water but the effects have more than worn off. I mean come on! If we were still experiencing the side effects of it, do you really think that we would be able to jump across Seattle's high-rise district? Do you really think that you could overpower Max? What's your real reason for doing this Zack, and you better have a damn good reason, because Max is going to want to know it when she wakes up, and trust me, there isn't a reason good enough to justify what you did to her."

"We needed to get out of there, and she was letting emotions control her judgment. I did the only thing possible that made the most sense at the time."

"So knocking her unconscious was the thing that made the most sense? How do you figure that?"

Zack angrily walked away from the car, and then back towards Jondy. "Don't you question me soldier. I'm the CO here, and I make the decisions."

Jondy scowled at Zack and shook her head. "Cut the crap Zack. Right now, all I want to know is how this all started from the beginning. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that Logan had nothing to do with this, and for all we know, he's at Manticore right now, or even worse, dead. And all of this happened for a reason, and I want to know what that reason is."

"Lydecker knows where Max hangs out. He wants to capture her. I didn't want him to get three of us in one shot, so in order to make things go faster, I drugged Max so that we could leave. End of story."

"That still doesn't explain Lo..."

"End of story Jondy. End of story. Now let's go." 

"No Zack, that's not 'end of story.' How did Lydecker know where to look for Max? He's not that good of a guesser."

"Maybe he finally figured it out."

"I don't think so."

"Jondy, he's been close to finding her for almost a year now. Sooner or later he was bound to get her."

Jondy narrowed her eyes. "Sounds feasible, I guess." Jondy then smiled up at Zack. "Change of topic here...not to point out your mistakes or anything, but don't you think you should tie Max up or anything? I mean, I'm not one to tie up my siblings, but I really don't want to die in a car accident that will be caused when she wakes up and strangles you." Jondy looked at Zack and almost started laughing when she saw his face. She needed something to lighten the tension between the two, and that comment worked for her at least. Jondy stood off to the side, her arms crossed across her chest as she watched Zack rip one of the seatbelts out of the chair in the back and use it to tie Max up with. Another one was used to gag her so that she wouldn't be able to start a commotion if she happened to wake up while they were at a gas station or any other public place. As soon as Zack was done, without even glancing at Jondy, he climbed into the car, and started the engine, creating a silent hint that he was ready to leave. Sighing, Jondy walked towards the car, rounded it to her side, and climbed in to the passenger seat, thus willingly allowing Zack to take her God-knows-where.

****

Present time

Jondy continued looking out the window. She almost sensed Max waking up before she actually stirred. It could have been her enhanced senses, it could have been her sisterly intuition, or it could have been the fact that she was looking forward to this moment ever since they climbed into the car in the first place. As Max began to stir, Jondy shifted a bit in her seat. Every fiber in her being wanted to loosen the grips on Max, but there was no way in hell she was going to take Max's wrath that should be only dealt out to Zack. Jondy stole a glance over at Zack and almost laughed. He was visibly tightening his grip on the steering wheel, almost as if he was getting himself ready for what was to come. Jondy stared straight ahead on the road, and couldn't contain her laughter any longer when a muffled stream of expletives started emanating from Max's mouth. Expletives that were meant entirely for her big brother. This was going to be an interesting conversation to say the least.

***************************

Logan stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and genuinely better than he did earlier in the morning. It was almost as if the water had managed to cleanse some of his worries away. _I should apologize to Max about this morning. But what do I have to apologize for? Everything that I said was true. She does need to start asking for help once in awhile. It's just not safe doing everything on your own all the time. Sooner or later, that independence will backfire. _After drying himself off, he put on his robe, and walked to the mirror. After towel drying his hair, he ran some gel through it, making sure that it was nice and spiky, just how Max liked it. Logan ran his hand over his stubble, trying to decide whether or not to shave. Deciding against it, he quickly brushed his teeth, and looked at himself once more before heading into his room to find something to wear. _I'm sure Max is waiting for the bathroom. Knowing her, she's probably out there complaining to Jondy that there won't be any hot water for her, and that she'll kick my ass the second I come out. _Logan had to chuckle at that thought. _She'd never go through with it._ Logan crossed the bathroom to the door, and as soon as he pulled it open, he was faced with a small contingent of men, all of whom were pointing very large guns at him.

************************

"What do you mean we can't get into Seattle?"

The man stepped back in fear. Not only fear for his job, but fear for his life. "There...there...there's a military lockdown of the city. No one can get in or out at this point. It was just set up a few hours ago."

Lydecker leaned forward in his chair. "We're the military! Who authorized this?"

"I...I, don't know sir."

"You don't know?"

"It's no one from Manticore sir. This is someone else. We have no control over whoever they are."

Lydecker stood up quickly, and slammed his fists on his desk. "Well, find out who these people are, and why they're in Seattle. Get control over them, and get our people in there. I'm close to the X5s and I want them home now!"

"Yes sir. Right away sir." The man quickly stood in salute, and turned to leave, almost running out the door. _There is no way I'm going to find information on these people. They've never turned up anywhere before. No one's even heard of them._

Lydecker watched the soldier run from the room. _Nothing good ever happens to me. Who are these people, and why are they suddenly after my kids? I have to get in there and see what's going on._

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__


	6. I Ask, You Answer

A/N- Ok, after all the problems that fanfic.net has been having, this chapter took a little longer to get out, but here it is. Hope you like it!

Aimee- thanks girl. :)

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On the outside, Jondy wore a very bemused grin, but on the inside, she was cowering. Sure, she was trained to expect anything and everything, and she was trained to deal with even the most difficult of hostages, but never, anywhere, was she trained to deal with her very pissed off older sister. _They should have had classes for this at Manticore. They would've expected that sooner or later one of us was going to snap on the other. We should have been prepared for this. _Jondy was standing off to the side of Zack, with her arms crossed, and her hip thrust out to the side. She kept glancing at Max, never allowing her gaze to linger too long, for fear of receiving the icy stare that Zack was presently getting. 

After Max had started stirring in the backseat, and had sworn for a good ten minutes, Zack had finally pulled over in a roadside turnout that they had come across. After turning off the engine, and shoving the keys down as far as they would go in his jeans pocket, he climbed out of the car. Jondy had quickly scampered out her door over to where she stood now so that she could witness the opening of the back door. Zack had taken a deep breath, and then slowly reached down to the handle. Jondy had watched Max's eyes the entire time, which were following every move that Zack made. She was certain that as soon as the door was opened, Max would somehow lunge out at Zack, and kill him right there on the spot. But that hadn't happened. Instead, Max stayed eerily calm, and had only moved so that she was upright. That had been about twenty minutes ago, and the two siblings were still deep into their staring contest. 

__

I wonder how come Max hasn't moved. Falling back on her training again. Never show any weakness to your captor, no matter what advantage they hold over you. I remember that class. That's for sure. I wonder if she will kill Zack when he finally unties her. That is *if* he unties her. Personally, if it were me, I'd think I'd wait for awhile longer. Give her that extra time to calm down to the level of pissed. I think she's so livid right now, she hasn't even registered that Logan isn't here. Wow, that won't be a good scene at all. Jondy broke her stare of Zack and looked down the empty road. _I wonder how far I'd make it if I started walking right now. Maybe if I left this very second, in the time that it would take Max to break from her restraints, kill Zack, and get the car going, I could be, oh, like two miles from here. Maybe I'll get lucky and there'll be a town right down the road. I could hide out there until she calms down. What am I talking about? She'd tear the town down to get to me. She wouldn't care who I was I don't think. Ok, must stay here. Maybe with Zack we can hold her down for at least a few seconds._

"Max."

__

Whoa! That's new. Zack *never* starts the conversation. This is seriously treading into *very* dangerous territory now. Jondy looked to Max to see her reaction. Not surprisingly, she didn't move. Didn't even flinch when Zack spoke. She simply continued to shoot daggers at him with her eyes.

"Max, this is for your own good. You would have been caught if you stayed."

Max continued to stare up at Zack. Never moving.

Jondy honed her hearing, and could hear Max breathing very heavily, but keeping it in control. She was beyond pissed. Beyond livid. Beyond any word in the English language for angry. Jondy looked at Zack and could see a bit of fear begin to creep into his normally stoic demeanor. _Man, I'd be scared too if Max was after me. I don't even want to think of what she could do._

"Ok Max, I'm just going to take out the gag. Then we can talk, ok?"

__

Not a good plan Zack! Not a good plan! Jondy unconsciously took a step back as Zack carefully leaned into the car to untie the seatbelt that was keeping Max from speaking.

Zack backed up from the car, and watched to see what Max would do.

After the gag was taken from her mouth, Max opened and shut her jaw a few times to work the kinks that had developed. She then licked her lips, preparing to talk. After a few tense moments, she looked right at Jondy. "Jondy?"

Jondy licked her lips in worry of what Max was going to say. _It's not my fault that she's here, right? She can't blame all of this on me, can she? _"Um, yeah Max?"

Max smiled. "You wouldn't by any chance have some lip balm on you, would you? My lips are kind of dry after such a long car ride."

Jondy was caught completely off guard with Max's question. She quickly dropped her hands to her pockets and started rummaging through each pocket she had. "Um, yeah, I do. Um, would you like raspberry, cherry or crystal ice?"

"Cherry would be fine."

"Uh, sure." Jondy quickly grabbed the cherry flavored one in her right hand, thrusting it towards Max, dropping the others in the process.

"You might have to help me with that little sis."

Jondy shook her head, trying to get rid of the sense of dread that was ever present. "Oh right. Sorry." Jondy took the cap off the stick, and rubbed the substance over Max's lips. After a few swipes, she pulled back. "Is that better?"

"Much. Thank you."

Jondy put the cap back on, and shoved the stick in her coat pocket. Noticing that the other two had fallen, she bent to pick them up. _This is going good. I think I can handle this. Maybe she won't kill me after all. I gave her lip balm. Maybe she'll only maim me instead. _Jondy had to smile as her thoughts ran through her head. Tuning back into the real world, she stood up and returned her gaze to her two siblings.

"Ok Zack. I am trying real hard here to comprehend what just happened, and I'm not doing too well. You mind explaining it to me?"

"This is for your own good Maxie."

"No, no. That's not explaining what just happened. I don't want to know why you did it. I want to know what caused you to do it."

Zack turned around and raked his fingers through his hair.

Jondy could only stand in awe as to what was going on. Never in her life had she seen a discussion this thick with tension. One of them was going to snap, but she didn't have a clue which one would.

"Don't you turn away from me!"

Zack whipped around and looked at Max again.

"You drugged me, took me from my home, tied me up, and have left me with no explanation as to what in the hell is going on. So do *not* turn your back on me."

"They were going to capture you Max. They knew where to find you."

"I figured that out already Zack. The whole military vehicle set up in front of my crib was a pretty good sign of that."

"So, I just did the best thing possible. I took you out of a bad situation, and put you into..."

"What, a good one? Trust me Zack, I would rather have stayed than come with you."

"No, a better one. At least now you don't have to worry about being captured."

Max narrowed her eyes. "What I want to know is, how did they know where to find me Zack? Huh? Tell me that one please."

Jondy watched as her two siblings got angrier and angrier. Max's last question seemed to hit Zack hard though.

Zack shoved the backdoor in frustration, causing the metal frame to bend.

Max calmly watched Zack's venting, and raised an eyebrow at his display. "That'll help Zack. Breaking the car. Great way to explain to me what's going on."

"You are so frustrating Max! You still can't see what's going on here?"

"Obviously not Zack, because why else would I be asking you?"

"I hate to break this to you Max, but the only one who knows where you hang out, and has the technology to alert Lydecker is none other than your boyfriend." Zack almost spat out the last few words.

"Logan had *nothing* to do with this. Nothing. So stop bringing him into this. I don't even know why you constantly have to say that Logan...wait. Where's Logan?" For the first time since she woke up, Max moved. She whipped her head around and looked throughout the car. "Where's Logan? Tell me he's just standing outside."

"Zack wouldn't let me bring him Max. I tried. I swear!"

Zack turned to Jondy and gave her an icy glare. Right away she backed off, holding her hands up in surrender. Zack turned back to see Max's reaction.

"Logan isn't here? You left him at the apartment?"

"Max! He was the one that tipped Lydecker off! I can't believe that you're not seeing this!"

Jondy watched as Max lowered her head. It almost looked as if she was about to cry. _Wait a minute. Max doesn't cry. At least, I don't think she would. But, I don't know. _Jondy kept a close eye on Max. And then, she noticed that Max's shoulders were heaving up and down. _Whoa. She *is* crying. Damn. She has it bad for him._

Max's shoulders were heaving up and down as she gathered her strength. She would have one shot at this, and even that was a long shot. When she finally felt that she was ready, she pulled against her restraints as hard as she could. After a few moments, she could feel them giving, and as soon as they broke, she was out of the car like a rocket. Zack was too quick for her, though. Her feelings were beginning to cloud her judgment. 

As Max lunged out of the car at him, Zack grabbed her and twisted her around so that her back was pressing against his chest. With one arm, he held her close, as the other one snaked around her neck. Increasing the pressure, he held on until she went limp in his arms.

As Max fell to the ground, only one word worked its way through her haze. _Logan._

Guess she wasn't crying. "Damn Zack." Jondy walked over to where Max had fallen, and helped her brother put her in the car. As they closed the door, Jondy crossed her arms and smirked at Zack.

"What?"

"Man, she's *really* gonna kill you when she wakes up this time."

**************************

The leader of the SWAT team roughly grabbed Logan and threw him into another team member, who easily caught Logan, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and hit the back of Logan's knees with the butt of his gun, causing Logan to land heavily on the floor on his knees. The sickening crack of bone on hardwood floor echoed throughout the room. Logan pulled at the handcuffs, but two guns on either side of his head, pointing at his temples, caused him to stop.

"Where's the girl?"

__

Oh my god, they found Max. Wait a minute. If they're asking where she is, they haven't gotten her. But where is she? She was here a mere hour ago. She would've come to get me, wouldn't she? The force of a blow to the back of the head caused by the butt of one of the guns caused Logan's head to swim, and threw him back into the world. "What girl?"

The leader looked up at her team and laughed. "What girl. What girl? He's asking us what girl. Can you believe this?" The other men in the team chuckled, but quickly shut up at their leader turned her attention back to Logan. "*This* girl." He thrust the picture of Max into Logan's face that she had given him on Valentine's Day.

Logan looked at the picture and then back into the eyes of the leader. "Never seen her in my life. It came with the frame. I thought she was kind of hot, so I kept it in there, you know, for personal reasons." Another blow came to the back of his head, causing Logan to fall forward. He was kept in place though, by someone holding onto the back of his robe. His head was swimming once again, and he was finding it difficult to focus.

"Being funny isn't going to keep you alive." The leader crossed the room and put the picture of Max on the floor near the door. She looked up at Logan and raised his gun. "If you don't tell me where she is....." The leader took her gun, and shot it, letting the bullet explode the picture. "...that will happen to you, and to her, the second we find her."

Logan looked in horror at his most prized picture. Only one word managed to creep through his terror. _Max._

***************************************


	7. Confession Times

A/N- Ok guys, here ya go; finally the next chapter of this fic. I hope you all actually remember what this thing was about. ;) From here on out though, hopefully I'll be posting pretty regularly because I generally have this thing done. 

And of course a big thank you to Aimee. Thank you for all those notes you give me girl. Without them, so many things wouldn't make sense in this fic.

***************************************

Agent Travers ascended the Calgary Tower in one of the few still functioning elevators in the city. The once thriving metropolis was hit hard by The Pulse. Especially the affluent downtown area in which the Tower stood. The trains that once ran from the north end of the city to the south end now housed many families during the harsh mountain winters. Another popular spot for the homeless were in the tunnels that the train sometimes passed under. Even the one that was supposedly built under a graveyard was consistently full. 

Agent Travers stepped out of the elevator as it came to a stop and walked out into the open area. No matter how many times he was up there, the view always managed to take his breath away. He quickly looked out over the broken city. As far as he could see, there were small shacks lining the streets. Garbage cans were on fire, providing warmth to those who were able to huddle close enough to the flames. A few cars drove through the streets, a sign of those who somehow managed to keep their money even after the banks had lost everything. Off in the distance, the ever-burning fires provided an almost blood red hue to the sky as the sun set over the mountains. 

Snapping back to reality, Agent Travers proceeded to the opposite side of the observation deck, which was underneath the now defunct revolving restaurant. Now, it was an empty room, ransacked by god-knows-who, but brought back to a quasi-order by his current employer. Rounding the corner, Agent Travers came across the old souvenir shop that now served as the meeting area. There, standing with his back to the room, overlooking the city, was none other than Andrew Silver. Andrew Silver was feared throughout western Canada. He owned nearly everything, and everyone. If he wanted something, he got it. Silver was in his late thirties, and was just starting to show some gray hairs in his slicked back, jet black hair. His chilling blue eyes could draw anyone in, and once that happened, those people never got back out. He was wearing a very expensive suit, one that was more than likely imported, because even before the pulse, Calgary was not well known for having a lot of good quality things.

Travers stood on the other side of the table from Silver, and began to speak. "We have a civilian in custody sir."

"I gave no order to take any civilian in custody. What is the meaning of this?"

"He seems to be the owner of the apartment that X5-599 alerted us to. It appears that this civilian, who goes by the name of..." Travers looked down into the file folder that contained a full report of Operation Trackdown. "....who goes by the name of Logan Cale. He is the main benefactor of Cale Industries in Seattle. Parents died in '09; married to a Valerie...last name unavailable, they have since divorced. Hmmm, this is interesting. Apparently this Cale, is none other than Eyes Only. A cable hacker in Seattle that seems to expose corrupt public officials and helps victims of unjust law."

"That is interesting, and I'm sure a lot of people would kill to get their hands on that report, but I don't care about that. What is his relationship with X5-452? I spent a lot of money on this serum that we released, and I want it to come to some use. If this Cale can help us find the girl, I need to know."

"Right." Travers quickly scanned the report to the area concerning X5-452. "Agent Joshua writes that Cale denied any knowledge of the girl. However, he did have several pictures of her in the apartment. As well, clothes that could only belong to her were found on the premises."

Silver turned towards Travers. "How did Agent Joshua determine that those clothes could 'only belong to her'? Hmmm?"

"It says here that all clothes found were of a size 4, waist 26, length 30, size small or medium, depending on the shirt. These sizes match up perfectly with the knowledge we have already gained of X5-452."

"If this is all true, why do we not have the girl?"

Travers closed the file, and grabbed his wrist behind his back, standing at ease. "There was no one on the premises except for Cale. We do not know what happened to X5-452. There was a small hypodermic needle found near the entrance to Cale's bedroom. Tests are being made on it now."

"When you get the results, give them to me immediately."

"Yes sir. Is that all sir?"

Silver turned back towards the window, overlooking his broken city. "Prepare Cale for transport. I want to meet him."

"Yes sir. He'll be in town tomorrow."

"Very good work Agent Travers. You can go."

Agent Travers turned and left, walking around towards the elevator. Once inside, he opened the file again, and read down the page. He stopped at the sentence that he neglected to tell Silver. _"X5-452 was seen being carried out of the building by X5-599 and a yet undetermined individual. They are no longer in Seattle."_ _No matter how much we torture this Cale, he won't be able to tell us anything. My guess is, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, that is going to get him a one on one with Silver. God rest his soul._

***************************

Laying there in bed, feeling the worst of the seizure fall away, she was finally able to relax. There was still a slight tremor running through her body, and she didn't think that anything would be able to stop it. Taking a deep breath, she remembered that someone else was in the room with her. Or rather, in the bed with her. She turned her head to see his sleeping body beside her. Then, almost as if he sensed that she needed comfort, he rolled over onto his back, and held out an arm to her, inviting her into his soothing grasp. She smiled and snuggled closer to him, curling up beside him. As his arm draped over her shoulders, and pulled her close, she could finally feel the tremors easing away.

"Ok, I can honestly say that this is not the way I pictured this confrontation at all."

Max snapped her eyes open at the sound of Jondy's voice. Only then did she realize that she wasn't in Logan's bed. And only then did she realize that the person she now had her leg and arm draped across was certainly not Logan. Max reeled back, and jumped out of bed. "Zack! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jondy dissolved into a pile of giggles. After Zack had knocked Max unconscious for the second time that day, and both he and Jondy had piled Max back into the car, the three of them set off down the road. When they arrived in the next town, Jondy had convinced Zack to stop over. They had been driving all day, and with all the events that had been going on in the last few days, neither of them had gotten a whole lot of sleep. They had checked in to a small hotel, and after finding their room, Jondy had left Zack to sleep while she went to find some food. After what had happened during the day, the *last* thing that she expected to witness, was the scene that she had walked in on.

"Max, I..."

"No! I do *not* want to hear a single syllable come from your mouth. 

"Max, before you start, why don't you put some actual clothes on before you start yelling at Zack because you woke up straddling him." Jondy had to stifle another fit of laughter as she spoke.

Max glared at Jondy and then looked down at what she had on. Since Zack had drugged her before she had started getting ready in the morning, she was still clad in her underwear, one of Logan's old t-shirts, her fuzzy red robe, and a pair of fuzzy slippers. "But I..." the slight rustle in the air stopped her from talking as Jondy threw some clothes at her.

"Here. I swiped these while getting our chow." Jondy held up a small bag which had to have held some kind of Chinese cuisine judging by the smell emanating from it. "And why don't you take a shower while you're at it. Give you a chance to wake up a bit."

Max narrowed her eyes and looked directly at Zack who had jumped off on the other side of the bed, and had remained motionless since Jondy had walked in. "Right." Max clenched the clothes Jondy had thrown to her in her right hand, and walked towards the front of the small hotel room towards the bathroom. When Max got inside, she closed the door, turned on the fan, and proceeded to peel off her clothes as the shower ran. She stepped in, and let the water beat down on her. Everything that had happened in the past day came rushing back to her. Emotions flooded her consciousness, and the one that pushed its way to the surface first was anger. After muttering obscenities for as long as she could muster, and after calling Zack every name in the book, and a few choice others that she made up, Max finally began to calm down. As she did, more coherent thoughts began to make themselves known. _Logan. Oh my god, Logan. Did Lydecker take you? All of this is my fault. I should never have gotten involved with you. I should have just remained friends with you. Then I wouldn't have been there to let you get taken. I should've been stronger. I'm better than Zack. I should have been ready for that. I can't believe I let him drug me. I can't believe I didn't get to you. Oh my god Logan. I'm so sorry. _Max put her hands on the shower wall, and lowered her head under the water. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Sobs began to wrack her body, and it seemed as if they would never stop. Finally, after a long while, as the water began to run cold, Max pulled herself together, turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped herself tightly in a towel, and moved over to the counter. She stared into the mirror at her reflection, and she looked deep into her own eyes. They looked different. Less lively almost. It looked as though something was missing. And that's when she realized what was gone. A small piece of her heart had been broken away, and it would take a lot to get it back.

*************************

"Ok, other than the fact that you owe me *so* big right now."

"What do you mean?" Zack walked over to the small table which Jondy was now loading with the food she had brought.

"What do I mean? Well, let's see. I managed to arrive here before Max woke up on her own. Judging by what I saw, she was dreaming, and was more than likely about to act on that dream. Now imagine how embarrassed, and there for, how angry she would have been if she had woken up with you there instead of Logan." Jondy took the one eyebrow raise she got out of Zack as a sign that she had gotten one point out of the deal. "And secondly," Jondy opened one of the chow mien boxes and dug in. "I brought her food."

Zack let out a small laugh and sat down across from Jondy, grabbing a box of rice of his own to eat.

"And judging by the things that she's calling you right now, it was a *very* good thing that I did both things." Jondy watched Zack as he stopped chewing and lifted his head a bit as he tuned his hearing so that he could listen in on Max. After obviously hearing a few of her choice words, he went back to chewing.

"Maybe I should go out and see if I can find a map or something."

"Yeah, that might be wise."

Zack and Jondy ate in a companionable silence until they could hear the water being turned off. As soon as that happened, Zack took a few more bites, shot back the remainder of his tea, and left the room without so much as a word. Soon after he was gone, Max emerged from the bathroom, clad in the clothes Jondy had gotten for her, with her robe and shirt draped over one arm, and her slippers in the other hand. The jeans and sandals that Jondy had found were a little big, and the shirt was a tad bit more fitting than even what Max liked. Max laid her robe and shirt on the bed, and dropped her slippers on the floor. Finally remembering the food that had been brought in earlier, Max steered herself towards the table and sat down.

Jondy grabbed a Styrofoam cup that was sitting near her and gave it to Max. "Say thank you."

Max took the cup and looked inside. "Mmmm. Coffee."

"I figured you'd want some, or rather, need some. Because you've gone what, like twelve hours or something without caffeine? Isn't that like some kind of record or something?"

Max replied by almost draining the cup. She reached across the table, and grabbed two boxes of food, and put them beside two already open ones.

After watching Max wolf down food for a good twenty minutes, Jondy finally spoke. "How're you doing?"

Max put down her chopsticks, and leaned back in her chair. It was a few minutes before she replied. "Fine, I guess. Considering."

Jondy nodded.

"I guess it was your idea to not have Zack here when I came out. Good plan."

"Actually, it was his idea. I just encouraged him." Jondy winked at Max.

"So, before my 'savior' returns, I want to hear from you what happened."

"Maybe we should wait until he gets back. He can probably explain everything better than I can anyways."

"That may be true, but I want to hear a story without the sentence 'I did it for your own good' or any variation of that in it."

"Well..." Jondy looked nervously towards the door.

Max leaned forward in her chair. "Jondy, you left Logan behind, and I'm having a real tough time dealing with that right now. You owe me an explanation."

Jondy licked her lips, once again looked at the door, and then started her speech. "Alrighty. Where do you want me to start?"

"How about right after me and Logan left you and Zack sitting there in the restaurant."

"Ok. Right after you guys left, Zack took off, and told me to stay put and eat. He said he had some shit to do, or more specifically, as I found out later, had a contact to call. Now, before you ask, I don't have a clue who this person is, but my guess is is that they're from Manticore, but I could be horribly wrong, so don't quote me on that. I finished up, and then Zack still hadn't come back, so I took off to tour the rest of the hotel, and looked in some stores that were near by."

"That must have been when I came looking for you guys, because when I looked in, there was no one there."

Jondy nodded. "Must have been then. But anyways, so then I headed back up to our room, which I must thank you for by the way, cause it was da bomb. So we basically just stayed there until the sector passes arrived. I watched TV, and Zack did, well, whatever it is that Zack does during the day. Then we headed for Seattle, and you kind of know everything from there."

Max narrowed her eyes. She was getting impatient with Jondy's rambling, and she wanted to know about what happened since she was drugged. "That doesn't explain me being drugged at all."

Jondy nervously cracked her knuckles. "Right. Ok. So, that morning while Logan came into talk to you, I went out to talk to Zack. He was kind of upset that you didn't leave with him, which I totally understand you doing, because there's no way in hell I would have left either. So I got frustrated with his attitude, and left him to sulk. I went to my room, and was working my anger off when I heard the two of you yelling at each other. I came out, and you were already unconscious. Then he ordered me to follow him." Jondy looked Max straight in the eye for the first time since she started talking. "I tried to get him to get Logan out too, but he wouldn't listen to me. I'm sorry Max."

Max gave Jondy a weak smile. "Thanks Jondy. I know you did. But why wouldn't Zack let you get him? I mean, I know he doesn't exactly think the highest of him, but even Zack wouldn't let an innocent get hurt if it's preventable."

"Zack said that Logan was working for Lydecker."

"That's bullshit."

"Look Max, I know that you think Logan doesn't have anything to do with this, but..."

"I *know* Logan doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Ok, ok, but still, Zack has a point. No one else could have alerted Lydecker, or whoever this is that's behind all of this crap, to both places you live."

Max looked at Jondy coolly. "Logan had nothing to do with this. Nothing."

"So then who else told them where you would be?"

"There's only one other person I know that knows where both Logan and I live, and that's Zack."

Jondy furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why would Zack tell people where you were? He doesn't want you to get caught."

"I don't know, but he's the only one that could have alerted the right, or wrong people in this case, to where I live. It's the only explanation."

"I don't know girl. That's kind of farfetched."

Max stood up and began walking around the room. "It makes sense though, doesn't it?"

Jondy turned around in her chair so that she could watch Max as she paced. "I guess it does. I just don't understand it though."

"Neither do I, but I don't really care about that right now. Where's the phone? I need to see if maybe Logan is ok. If not, there will be hell to pay."

Just as Max was reaching for the phone, Zack came bursting in the door. "Do *not* call him."

Max took the phone in her hand and began dialing the familiar number.

Zack ran over to her, and grabbed the phone out of her hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Keeping you from making another mistake." Zack nearly shouted his response.

"What?"

"I'm not letting you call Logan. He's the reason that you almost got caught, and I'm not going to sit back and let you call him and tell him exactly where you are again."

"In case you haven't realized it yet Zack, I don't know where the hell we are. We could still be in Seattle for all I know. I kind of wasn't conscious during our car ride. But oh wait, you should have realized that since you're the one that caused my unconsciousness."

"Funny Max."

Max gave Zack a mock smile. "Thanks. Now give me the phone, before I lose what little self-control I have left and give you a serious case of unconsciousness."

Zack looked into Max's eyes, and saw that she meant business. Without speaking, and with giving a quick look over to Jondy, who was emphatically telling him with her eyes that he should give Max the phone, he reluctantly handed Max what she wanted.

Max smiled at him, and finished dialing the number. She listened to it ring three times before she got a familiar greeting. "You've reached the number you dialed." _Hmmm, Logan's never usually out right now, but then again, with me suddenly gone, if he's still there, he's probably out looking for me. _Max heart filled with a little warmth with that thought, but the dread that something was wrong was still weighing heavy. _I'll leave a message. Just to tell him that I'm ok. That'll be the best thing. _"Logan, it's me. I'm ok, I'm with Zack and Jondy. I'll keep calling you until I get an answer, so when you get home, *stay there*. Talk to you soon." Max turned away from Zack and Jondy so that her back was to them and she could semi whisper into the phone. "I love you." Max returned the phone to its cradle, and went to sit on the bed. _This is going to be one heck of a long day._

********************* 


	8. Confrontations

A/N- Ok guys, here's the next chapter. It's a little later than I promised, but (enter blackmail here ;)) since I didn't get a lot of reviews last time, I didn't rush to get this one out. 

Also, I've started a webpage, that is still highly under construction, but has got a lot of really great fics on there. Check it out if you want to at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~pdhperen/demo.html.

Aimee- thanks for the edits. So many things wouldn't make sense if you weren't checking this thing over for me ;)

On with the show.......

********************* 

"Alright sexy, we're going on a road trip. Get changed."

Logan opened his eyes when a pile of clothes were thrown at him. He looked up to see the woman that he had learned was named Agent Joshua, smiling at him. Looking down at the clothes that were now in his lap, Logan finally realized that he had been sitting in only his robe all morning. Logan looked back up at Joshua and gave her a grin. "That'd be great, but see the thing is, I don't know if I'll do that."

Agent Joshua raised an eyebrow. "I could always help you you know."

Logan stared back at her hoping to catch her bluff. However, it didn't appear as though she was going to crack anytime soon, and eventually he caved in. He grabbed the clothes and stood up to get changed. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to use the bathroom before we go."

Agent Joshua narrowed her eyes. "Fine, but I'm listening in, and if I hear you say anything, I'm breaking in there to check up on you." 

Logan watched as a smile came across Joshua's face. _Somehow I have a feeling she's going to bust in any chance she gets. _Logan started walking towards the bathroom, and closed the door. As he began to pull on the clothes he had, thoughts started to wind through his head. _Max'll have a field day when she meets Joshua. Oh Max. Where are you? Do you even know what's going on? You're a smart girl. I'm sure you've figured it out. I hope you don't come to get me though. These people mean business, and I don't want you getting caught because of me._

"Sweetie, are you done in there yet?"

The sound of Joshua's voice and the tapping on the door brought Logan out of his thoughts. Logan pulled on his pants, and walked out the door. "Let's go!"

************************

Logan sat in the back of a van with Agent Joshua sitting across from him. Her constant staring was starting to unnerve him. The shrill ring of her cell phone caught him off guard, and he jumped in his seat.

Joshua answered her phone, and was immediately greeted with the voice of one of the officers under her command. After she had gotten Logan ready to go and had gotten him on the road, she had left orders with this private to continue cleaning Logan's apartment in search of anything related to X5-452. While she was still there, she had found pictures of the two together, but that could have been a simple, short relationship, thus not proving that Cale knew anything about the transgenic's past. Joshua had told the private to only call her when he found something that would be useful, so she was interested in what he had to say. "Report, private."

__

"Sir, as I was leaving Cale's residence, the phone rang. I think you'll be interested in the message that was left. I'm emailing it to you now."

Joshua opened her laptop and downloaded the new message.

__

"Logan, it's me. I'm ok, I'm with Zack and Jondy. I'll keep calling you until I get an answer, so when you get home, *stay there*. Talk to you soon. I love you."

Joshua smiled. She couldn't believe her good luck. This message was all the evidence that she needed. "Thank you private. Excellent work." Joshua closed her phone. Silver was going to be pleased with this. _Cale better count his blessings, because he just ran out of miracles. _She looked up at Logan and smiled. "It looks like your girlfriend is worried about you. She should really be worried about herself."

Logan froze the second that he heard Max's voice. He knew that the situation had just escalated from a bad situation to an extremely bad situation. He looked out the window, and could only pray that Max somehow would figure out what was really going on and would somehow find a way to survive.

****************************

Agent Joshua had been reluctant, but after a long day of driving, she finally allowed Logan to go to the bathroom. While he was in there, she watched the people walk by. One girl in particular caught her attention. The girl was about 5' 5" with shoulder length blonde hair, and was carrying enough food for at least three people. Joshua leaned forward and tapped on the grate that connected the front seat to the prisoner area in the back where she was sitting. "Private, what town are we in?"

The man sitting in the driver's seat tilted his head back a bit so that he could answer her. "I believe that we are in Lethbridge sir."

Agent Joshua leaned back. "Thank you private." _That girls looks a lot like the suspect that left Cale's residence with X5-452 and X5-599. I'll have to alert Silver to that._

*******************************

Logan walked beside Joshua through the downtown area of Calgary. He looked around, thinking that there was someway that he could just run, but he had no where to go, and even if he did, he would have no idea how to get there. He had no money on him, no identification, and more importantly, no sector passes. Logan looked up and could see the Calgary Tower looming, and his heart began to race. During the entire road trip, he had tried to get some information on the man that he would soon be meeting, but everyone was reluctant to talk about him. Almost as if they were terrified of him, which could more than likely have been true. Logan was still looking up at the Tower when Joshua grabbed his arm.

"Here, come this way. We're making a short side trip." 

Logan looked intently all around him. They entered a large building that at one time appeared to be a mall. Now, it was home to a lot of people. Joshua led Logan through the building towards the inner core. He looked in amazement when the mall opened up to really, one massive room. There were about four stories, with each floor going in a perfect square. The floors were connected by old escalators that were no longer functioning, but were still passable. Joshua headed towards the one, and began climbing. Logan silently followed her, and tried to move as far over as he could whenever one of the locals came down the stairs. Being the outsider, he didn't want to provoke any of them. Joshua continued climbing the floors until she reached the top. Logan looked in awe when he saw where they were going. The entire top floor was entirely closed off, but inside the enclosure was a jungle of sorts. Logan looked at the small sign over the one door and could make out that it was called the "Devonian Gardens." Logan followed Joshua in, and right away was hit with the overpowering smell of the outdoors. At one time the plants were kept neat, and paths led through the place, but now everything was overgrown, and many of the walkways were impassible. Joshua led Logan near the back of the room, and held up a vine for him, making visible a small flight of stairs. Logan walked down them, and waited until Joshua passed him. They continued walking until he saw a small figure crouched in the shadows.

"You got my money?"

Logan first looked to the small figure, and then looked to Joshua, who was now focusing in on the small figure.

"Of course I do. Do you have my stuff?"

The small figure pulled something out of her jacket and handed it to Joshua. She took the package, and gave the money she was holding to the little girl. 

Logan looked closely at the exchange, curious as to what was going on, and then focused in on what Joshua was now doing. It seemed to be a pill bottle that she held, and she quickly opened it, taking out a few pills and shooting them back.

Joshua could sense Logan staring at her, and shot him a glare. "What? I have a neurological condition that requires these."

Logan narrowed his eyes. "Right." _That definitely wasn't Tryptophan. Somehow I have the feeling that those pills are not for medicinal reasons. This could prove valuable later on._

Joshua glared at Logan and then pulled him along. "Come on. We're going to be late, and Silver does not like it when people are late."

As they were leaving the gardens, Logan noticed a small bench tucked away. _Hmmm. If I ever get out of this, I'm going to have to bring Max here. She'll like this._

****************************

Minutes later, Logan found himself carefully watching the leader as he paced around the table, and went in behind Logan. As he did, Logan stared straight ahead, not really focusing in on anything. The dizzying heights were a bit unnerving for him, but since it was a similar sight that he had from his penthouse, that allowed him to relax just a bit. Logan tensed right up again however when he felt the hot breath of Silver on his neck.

"Won't the people of Seattle be worried when the great Eyes Only suddenly isn't broadcasting anymore? They may begin to think that he has abandoned them."

Logan stiffened with the words that were coming out of Silver's mouth.

Silver walked around the side of the table so that he could look Logan right in the eye. "Yes, I know that you're Eyes Only, but that doesn't concern me. You could be the Easter Bunny for all I care." Silver grinned a bit. "Although, I heard that your Uncle Jonas puts on a great act as the Easter Bunny. Junior." Silver smirked at Logan.

"Well, since you know so much about me, why don't you let me in on a bit about yourself?"

"Ah, ah, ah. But a true bad guy never reveals his true identity. If he did, when the good guy, which would be you by the way, got away, he'd have everything he would need to put away his enemy for good."

Logan sat in the chair and watched Silver as he paced. "Well you're obviously not going to be letting me go, so why not tell me? Give you someone to bounce ideas off of." Logan looked at Silver and leaned back in his chair as Silver moved into his personal space.

"Come on Cale. I'm older than you. Don't you think I saw the same movies as you? James Bond always found himself in this position."

"Yeah, and he always won."

Silver's mouth contorted into a wicked grin. "That, my friend, was in the movies. This however, is real life, and in real life, the good guys don't always win."

***************************

Jondy sat staring at her two siblings. Ever since Max had sat down on the bed after calling Logan, no one had moved. Max sat cross-legged on the bed, Zack sat in the chair near the table that still held the empty food cartons, and Jondy was in the other chair near the table. The only thing that had been moving in the room, was Max's eyes. They kept darting to the phone, perhaps in a vain attempt to get it to ring; to have Logan find the number that she dialed from and call her back, and then back to Zack.

Jondy kept glancing between Max and Zack. She was certain that when she had gone for a bathroom break that something would happen, but when she returned, both Max and Zack were in the same positions. Truthfully, at this point, she was getting bored. Jondy never did have a very long attention span, and this staring contest had gone on way too long for her. She needed something to do, and she wanted to find something to do quickly. Praying that someone would start talking, Jondy's leg started bouncing in anticipation.

Max sat on the bed, her mind racing with worry and regret. _I hope Logan's ok. But then again, if these people were after me, they wouldn't take him, right? But then he was harboring a criminal, so maybe they would take him. But this still all goes back to, how did Lydecker find us? Is Zack right in that he finally figured out where I stay? That can't be it though. It just can't. I'm always so careful, and lately Logan and I haven't even really been in Seattle all that much for him to track us. Oh Logan, I should have gotten you out of there. This is all Zack's fault. _Max began to get more and more angry as she began to delve deeper into recent events. _Zack. This all goes back to Zack. He's the only one that knows where I live, and Jondy said that he was talking to someone in Manticore. But then again, Jondy didn't know if it was someone from Manticore. It could be someone else he told. But why would he tell them? Wait a minute, he had that same water that Jondy had. He said so himself. That means that it was him that told these people where I live. Zack is the one that led them to me. Zack is the one that made me leave. Zack is one that got Logan captured. Zack is the one that's going to pay. _Max looked up at Zack with venom in her eyes.

Jondy had been watching Max intently for the past few minutes, and could almost see the gears turning in her head. But when Max looked up with pure hatred glowing in her eyes, Jondy froze in her spot. But as soon as she froze, she knew she had to get out of there. Quickly grabbing the empty containers of food, Jondy stood up and ran out of the room, quite intent with avoiding this confrontation that she knew was going to get ugly.

Zack gripped the arms of his chair as he saw the look that Max was now giving him. He knew that something was coming, but for the life of him, he couldn't tell what that was, and that scared him. Especially since this was Max coming after him; the one person back at Manticore that could invoke some damage to him. "Max?"

Max narrowed her eyes and started to stalk towards Zack. "Don't you 'Max' me. I finally figured it out Zack. It took me awhile, but I figured it out." Max came right up to Zack and grabbed his neck, slowly lifting him out of the chair. "It was you Zack. You're the one that told these people where to find me. You're the one that made me leave." Max continued to lift Zack higher and higher until he was as high as she could reach. "You're the one that got Logan captured. And because of that, you're going to be the one to pay." As blind rage began to take over Max's senses, her fingers began to close over Zack's throat, squeezing the life out of his body.

Realizing that Max was in fact going to kill him, Zack decided that he would have to act. Bringing his arms down on the arm that was holding him captive, he could hear the telltale sound on a joint dislocating. He couldn't be sure, but he assumed it was her elbow, possibly her shoulder. Either way, he didn't care, because the pressure on his esophagus was now gone. Falling back on his training, Zack knew that the threat was still there, so he immediately punched his captor in the chest, causing a crunching sound as a few ribs broke.

Max stumbled back from the pain. She felt like she was breathing in fire because her lungs hurt so much. Her shoulder was out of joint, but she took her hand and shoved it back into place, ignoring the grinding sound that could be heard as the bones rubbed over each other. As soon as Logan reappeared in her thoughts however, she lunged at Zack, catching his jaw with her fist. Now that he was off balance, she crouched down, and swept his feet out from underneath him. As he fell, his head hit the small table that held the TV, breaking the table in the process, and creating a sickening sound as bone met wood.

Dazed, Zack grabbed the back of his head, and looked up into the eyes of Max.

"Why did you do it Zack? Have you been working for Lydecker all this time? Did you sell us all out? Why Zack?" Max fell back into her fighting stance, never letting her guard down for a second, even though her opponent was down.

Zack could take a lot of punches, but the cold slap of being called a traitor pushed him over the edge. He jumped up from his position and attacked Max. Punches and kicks were thrown and blocked. Counter punches and lunges were made. As various things in the room were destroyed, neither Max nor Zack took notice as they were fully focused on their fight. Max seemed to have the upper hand though. For all of Zack's warnings that emotions would be her downfall, they seemed to be her upper hand as they gave her strength through the battle. Grabbing whatever material of Zack's coat as she could, Max took him in her arms, and threw him against the wall. As the wall buckled under the pressure, Zack slid to the ground, defeated. 

As all of her adrenaline rushed out of her body, Max collapsed to the floor. "What happened Zack. I need to know." With no strength left to even talk, Max's words came out in a whisper. Even the whisper was strained. Her voice sounded eerily similar to when she was close to dying after her fight with the Reds.

Zack looked up at her, and wiped the blood out of his eyes that was coming from a deep cut in his forehead that had occurred at some point in the fight. "It's not Lydecker Max, it's someone much more ruthless."

Max narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"

Zack sighed. He knew that he would have to tell her everything. But, maybe with this knowledge, they could somehow help their siblings, as well as Logan. "It's not Lydecker that's after you this time Max, it's someone else."

"You said that already. Who is this someone else?"

"His name is Andrew Silver. He's based out of Calgary."

"What does he want with us?"

"Same thing everyone else does. If he can get his hands on one of us, he can make more, or sell us to the highest buyer. I got wind of him just before this serum was released in the water. Thinking that I would stay one step ahead of him, I found a mole in his operation. I wanted to use this guy to tell me what Silver was up to. He seemed legit enough, letting me know about the serum. It was my fault that I didn't get to Jondy in time, otherwise everything would be fine."

Max pulled herself over to the bed so that she had something soft to lean against. Her breathing was becoming more and more ragged because of her ribs, but she was too focused on Zack's confession to worry about it. "You still haven't gotten to the part of letting them know where I live."

Zack took a deep breath and shifted his position as well so that he was sitting more upright against the wall. "Right. When we were in Portland with you and Logan, I went to check in on my inside man."

"Right. That must've been the contact that Jondy was talking about."

Zack merely nodded. "I don't really remember what questions he asked me. The serum must have been answering for me. All I can gather is that he asked where they could find you, and, because of the serum in me, I told them all they wanted to know."

"But I thought you said that you could trust this guy."

"I was wrong."

"Zack! This is a hell of a time for you to be wrong about something!"

"Look, Max, there's nothing that can be done about that now."

Max drew her legs up beside her. The voice that she spoke to Zack with came out a lot weaker than she would have wanted. "Did you tell him about Logan?"

Zack looked to the floor and shook his head. "I don't know." He looked back up to Max with sorrow in his eyes. "I honestly don't know."

The look of sorrow in Zack's eyes was almost Max's undoing, but she couldn't let herself forgive him just yet. She had to find Logan, and with the gut feeling that she was beginning to have, she had to find him soon. "We have to find Logan, Zack. He's in trouble. I know it." Max narrowed her eyes once again at Zack and let the eyes of a cold blooded killer peer out. "And I swear, if anything happens to Logan that I don't like..."

Zack held up his hand to Max. "Don't even finish that Max. We'll get him back."

"We don't even know where to start looking."

"Silver's based in Calgary, so why don't we go there?"

"How do we even know he's there? He could be anywhere!"

Just at that moment, Jondy walked into the room, and covered her mouth with her hand. She closed the door behind her, and took stock of the now destroyed room. Her eyes then swept towards Max, who was clutching her chest, and Zack, who was slumped against a very broken wall. "Oh my god! I shouldn't have left you two!" Jondy ran towards her sister, knowing that Zack never liked to be doted on. Jondy crouched down behind Max, and pulled her up so that she was leaning against her chest. "Max, are you ok?" Jondy could hear Max's labored breaths, and was worried.

Max looked over at Zack and smiled. "Yeah. Just letting some tension out."

Zack smiled back at Max, but Jondy wasn't impressed. "Jesus Zack! First of all you drug her, and then you go and crack a couple of her ribs..." Jondy looked at Max's shoulder, and saw how Max seemed to be favoring it. "...and then dislocate her shoulder too? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Max struggled out of Jondy's grasp. "Girl, it's ok. We've kind of worked this out." Max saw the look of surprise on Jondy's face, and explained quickly so that Jondy would understand. "I'll tell you everything in the car, but we think that Logan might be in Calgary."

Jondy raised an eyebrow, and nodded once. "That makes sense."

Max furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when I was getting our food, I saw a couple of black SUVs sitting at a gas station. They looked kind of like the ones that were outside of Logan's place."

"Jondy! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because all black SUVs look the same. They're black and big. No biggy. But if they were the same ones, it'd make sense that they'd be heading to Calgary, because that is the next biggest city."

"Next biggest city? Where are we?"

"Lethbridge."

Max looked at Zack and then at Jondy. She then looked around the room and smiled. "Well boys and girls, we're heading to Calgary, but I think that we should maybe head out the backdoor. Somehow I don't think that management will be too pleased with our treatment of the room."

Jondy laughed, and reached out to help Max to stand. "Yeah, I think you're right. Zack, you coming?"

"Yeah." Zack gripped the wall to help him to stand. He passed by the two girls, broke the window to their room, and climbed out.

As Jondy helped Max climb through, she leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'm surprised with what I saw when I walked in to the room."

"Why, because it was trashed?"

Jondy laughed. "No, because I thought you would've killed Zack."

Max threw her head back laughing, until the pain in her chest became too much and she had to stop. She now knew where Logan was, and no matter how injured she was, she was going to get him back.

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	9. Almost There

A/N- This story is officially done on my desktop. Since Christmas is coming up, I'm going to be posting the final chapters one every other night from now on.

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Logan rolled onto his back. He knew that Max would come and save him, and he knew that she would dispose of his captors swiftly, and efficiently. It was a most amazing show that the three siblings had put on. And the best part was, they did it all for him. Sure, they wanted to dispose of the people responsible for harming their siblings, and flushing them out, but their main focus had been to save him. To bring him home, so that he could be with Max once again. His life may not be perfect, but he was as close to feeling perfection as he possibly could. Putting his arms behind his head, he closed his eyes, reveling in the fact that he was finally in his own bed, away from danger. Unfortunately Max wasn't there, but she would come. He knew that she had to hang with her peeps once in awhile, and it had been awhile since she had seen them. Logan could feel sleep begin to over take him, and he slowly drifted out of consciousness.

Max walked into the bedroom and could see her love sprawled out on the sheets in front of her. She didn't want to wake him, so she quietly treaded into the bathroom, and quickly changed into one of Logan's old t-shirts that she had taken to wearing to bed. As she neared the bed, all thoughts of letting Logan sleep, went out of her head. His scent began to permeate her senses, and all coherent thoughts were quickly lost in a hormonal rage. Slowly creeping towards the bed as if she were stalking her prey, Max kept her full attention on the body that was asleep in front of her. She made her way onto the bed, and crawled so that she was next to him. Looking into his eyes, she could see that he was still asleep, so she decided to wake him up. A wicked grin crossed her face. Max straddled Logan's body, careful not to touch him so that he would not awaken too soon. Once again looking to his face to confirm that he was still asleep, Max began her torment. She moved her head down slightly, and thanking god that Logan had fallen asleep with his shirt off, she moved in for the kill. She parted her lips, and pushed her tongue out, leaving a hot, wet trail down his neck. She paused only to lick in the hollow of his neck. As soon as she did that, she knew that he was awake. His arms seemed to move of their own accord, and Max smiled as they gripped her firmly. She continued to lick down his body, reveling in the sounds of his ragged breathing.

Logan couldn't hold in his desire. Everything was just going perfect between he and Max. Finally, all of his dreams were coming true, and he felt as though he was going to burst. Letting go of his hold on Max, Logan watched her as she licked down his body, clenching all of his muscles so that he could preserve the moment that much longer. Her hair cascaded around his sides, tickling him as she moved. As she neared her destination, Logan took a deep breath.

"Get up!"

Logan immediately snapped out of his blissful dream.

"Get up! Or do you want me to make you?"

The large crack of a but of a gun on the desk in front of him made Logan jump out of his reverie and lean back heavily in the chair that he was in. Logan strained to get his eyes to focus, and when they did, the crystal clear image of Silver leering over him was the first sight he saw. As he looked past him, Logan could see Silver's bodyguard holding the gun that had woken him.

"The tests just came back from the lab on the needle we found in your apartment. The thing I don't get is, you've never liked doing your girls while they were unconscious before, why suddenly with this girl? Was she too rough for your tastes? Was she too strong for the great and powerful Eyes Only?"

Logan just sat bewildered. He'd defend Max if he could, the only thing was, he had no idea what Silver was talking about. _What needle? Why would there be a needle in my apartment? Wait a minute. Zack. That's how he got Max out of there. He drugged her, the little bastard. _Logan tried hard to keep his face neutral as he spoke. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I really don't know why there was a needle in my apartment."

Silver leaned down right into Logan's face. "I know you're lying."

Logan tilted his head and gave a small smile. He was doing everything in his power to keep himself from shaking. No matter how certain he was that Max would come to save him, something about Silver frightened him to his very core. More than likely, it was the knowledge that Silver held that frightened him. No one knew as much about Logan as Silver did. Logan was even beginning to think that Silver knew more about him than he did himself. "Really? Because I'm not."

"Do you want to know how I know you're lying?"

"Sure, why not. It'll be great for a laugh."

Silver gave a quick smile and then turned away from the desk. As he spoke, he looked out over his broken city. "As soon as I told you about the needle, confusion quickly raced across your face. That tells me that you indeed don't know why that needle was there. However, soon after that, you came to a realization. It was right there on your face. You may have tried to hide it, but emotion belies everyone. You know why that needle was there. And I think I do as well now. You told me everything I need to know. You never used it, nor did your girlfriend. But I'm betting X5-599 used it, and that's why I don't have either of them in my grasp as we speak."

Without realizing it, Logan let out a sigh of relief. _They don't have Max. Thank god._

Silver turned around and wagged his finger at Logan. "Ah, ah ah. You see, for all the denying that you know this girl, right there you told me that you do in fact know her, which I already knew, but, you know."

"Wow, that's a lot to figure out. Did you used to be a cop or something?"

Silver's upper lip twitched. "Funny. But you know what? Being funny isn't going to let you live any longer. After I get X5-452 in my grasp, I won't be needing you anymore, and I don't want to give you the chance to do one of your Eyes Only reports on me. I know that even though I know everything about you and can expose you, that won't stop you from making that report, so, I think you can figure out what's going to happen to you."

Logan just looked up at Silver and smiled once again. "I'm glad that you know so much. But I'm confused on something. If you know so much, why do you *need* me so much?"

"See, that's the thing. I know so much about you, that I know X5-452 is going to come to rescue you, and she is going to come right into my grasp. The rest of your little X5 friends may have slipped off the radar screen once again, but your girlfriend is too clouded with emotions to see that she is walking into a trap. And the best part is, she's bringing two of her siblings in with her." Silver smiled and clasped his hands behind his back. "I don't even need the rest of the X series because I've got the best three coming right to me."

Logan glanced beside him on the other side of the glass wall that separated him from the rest of the tower. He could see Agent Joshua rushing by, pausing only to throw a couple of pills down her throat. She almost looked like she was shaking though. _Maybe it *is* a neurological condition that she has. But whatever those pills are, they don't look to be working too well. _Logan shook his head to get his mind to move onto the next thought. _But if Silver has forgotten about the rest of Max's family, that's a good thing. I guess he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does, because if he did, he'd know that there was no way to capture Max and Zack. And if Jondy is third best out of all of them, he doesn't stand a chance. This is actually going to work out after all. _Logan sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He stared at Silver's back for awhile, but soon got tired of that, and let his daydreams claim him once more.

*********************************

"Max! Wake up! Max!"

Max quickly jumped out of her latest dream of Logan and took in her surroundings. They were in the car once again, and as her senses began to refocus, she began to remember what they were doing.

"Jeez, I would've thought you of all people would have been hyped for this trip."

Max looked ahead of her to the passenger seat of the car, where Jondy was sitting, turned in her seat, staring right at Max.

"I mean come on, this is your boyfriend that we're going after."

Max couldn't help but laugh when she saw Jondy turn to look at Zack after he had tensed at the word 'boyfriend'. Max knew that Jondy had something on her mind to say, but for once held it back.

"Sorry, I was just dreaming."

Jondy grinned. "Don't I know it. You had that same grin plastered on your face the last time that I caught you sleeping, so somehow I'm thinking that you were dreaming about a certain encounter with a certain person." Jondy bit back a laugh as Max turned away from her to look out the window. Even if you weren't a genetically enhanced being, you would've been able to see the deep crimson shade that spread across Max's face.

Max couldn't hide her blush from Jondy, so she just turned to look out the window. _It's kind of scary how much Jondy knows about me, and she hasn't even known me that long. I guess it's the whole sister thing. You can just know what the other is thinking at all times. _Max shifted her position a bit. Her ribs were healing, but they were still sore. _Hopefully by the time we get to Calgary, these things will have healed. I need to be in top form here. _ Max starred out the window, and watched the empty fields as they passed by. Occasionally, a car would pass by them, and speed on ahead. As the fields quickly became monotonous, Max drifted off into thought. 

After climbing out of the hotel, and making a hasty retreat so that they wouldn't be charged for damage to the room, they immediately climbed into the car to begin their trek to Calgary. Jondy had driven first so that Max and Zack would have time to sleep off some of their injuries, but Zack had soon taken over, claiming that Jondy was driving recklessly, and had refused to give up the wheel ever since. Jondy had argued that she was genetically enhanced and could handle the car at those speeds, but Zack countered with telling her that even if she was genetically enhanced, she wouldn't be able to avoid radar. 

After discussing what they should do upon arrival in Calgary, they all decided, that as soon as they found Silver's base of operations, they would just charge in, taking out as many people in the process. That way, Silver's men would never know what hit them. The problem would be finding his base of operations though. Zack never found that out from his 'mole', and so they would have to figure it out on their own.

Max finally looked up to see that they had arrived at the outskirts of town. The three of them had decided earlier that they would start their search in the downtown core, since it was more or less the center of the city, and the hubbub of activity. After another half hour of driving, Zack pulled over to the side of the road, and the three got out to look at the scene displayed in front of them.

"Wow." Jondy looked over the city in awe.

"You said it girl."

Jondy looked at Max. "So, where do you think Silver's base of operations is?"

Max looked up at the tall buildings that were dwarfing the three of them in the street. "You'd think a guy like Silver would want a place where he can oversee everything... he's up there."

Both Jondy and Zack looked skyward towards the building that Max was pointing at. There, looming over the rest of the buildings was none other than the Calgary Tower.

******************************

"Nice choice."

Max looked at Jondy and smiled. "Thanks."

Zack looked up at the Tower again, and then looked down at his two sisters. "Ok, here's the plan."

Jondy stepped up to Zack and looked him right in the eye. "You know what Zack? As smart as you think you are, I think Max should make up the plan on this one." Jondy's lips curled into a mock smile before she turned her attention to Max. "So girl, whaddya think? I'm with whatever you decide here."  


Max looked at her sister, and was amazed at the trust Jondy had in her. Jondy had only known her for a short while, but was more than willing to go with a plan made up by Max instead of Zack. Max was stunned, but touched. Snapping back into reality, Max started walking a bit further down the street until they hit one of the main streets that led right to the base of the tower. The three of them were still a fair ways off, so no one in the tower would be able to pick up on them, but they were close enough that with their enhanced sight, they could get a better look of what they were getting themselves into. Max carefully took in her surroundings, and then turned towards her siblings. "Ok guys. It looks like there are three doors. The main one, and then one on either side. You guys swing around from the sides and go in through those doors. I'll take the center one. Once inside, we'll meet up and take the elevator to the top. I'm assuming that's where they've got Logan." Max turned to her sister when she saw that she was about to speak. "And yes Jondy, I'm well aware that assumptions are deadly things, but that's what we're going to have to go on for now, ok?"

Jondy simply nodded. Max had taken the words right out of her mouth, but upon hearing them, she knew that they could only go on assumptions here. Any recon would lose them time and probably get them exposed.

"Now, once we get to the top, there will more than likely be a lot of guards. Take them out. We have to get Logan. Once we do, we hightail it out of there, and never look back. Understood?"

Both Zack and Jondy nodded. Jondy looked at Zack. She could tell that he wasn't impressed with Max making the decisions, but he was going to go along with it. More than likely, he would've come up with a similar plan anyways.

"Ok, Jondy, you go left, and Zack, you take the right side. I'll meet you both inside."

Everyone nodded their understanding of what was going to happen, and then took off in their respective directions. After seeing that her siblings were on their ways, Max stopped for a second. She looked way up into the sky, to the very top of the Tower. "I'm coming Logan." Her voice came out as a whisper that only the wind could hear.

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	10. All is Revealed

A/N- As promised, here's the next chapter. After this one, there's only the epilogue, which I'm going to put up Thursday. Enjoy.

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Logan once again bolted out of his daydream. This time it wasn't from something loud, but rather, from something soft. _I could have sworn that was Max talking. _Logan shook his head. _I've got to get down from here. These heights are making my mind play tricks on me. _Logan looked past his glass chamber to see Agent Travers looking extremely stressed out as he talked to Silver. _If only I had Max's sense of hearing. Then I could tell what those two were talking about. It seems kind of important._

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"What!?!"

"That's right sir. Agent Joshua has had some kind of overdose or something. I'm taking her to the hospital right now."

"How could *I* of all people not know about this? I thought you knew everything about everybody that worked for me! I can't afford to have something like this slip by!"

"I'm sorry sir. I don't know how she hid it for so long."

Silver ran his hands through his hair. "Fine, I don't care. Just make sure that you get her to a hospital."

Agent Travers nodded. "Yes sir. Right away sir." Travers turned to go, but stopped when he heard Silver's voice stop him.

"And you know what to do if she happens to tell anything about me to anybody, am I right Agent Travers?"

Travers closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes sir. I'll take care of her if she lets anything slip." Travers started walking towards the elevator, never once looking back at his employer. As he neared the elevator, he stopped to look at his former employee. She sat shaking uncontrollably on the floor, sweating profusely, looking as pale as a ghost. Bending down, Travers, scooped Joshua into his arms, and continued on towards the elevator.

*********************************

Jondy slowly opened her door, and peered into the room in front of her. From where she entered, she could see Zack entering from the opposite side, and Max, coming in the front. Just as she was about to smile and signal an ok to her siblings, the wall in front of her exploded open, with armed men pouring out of it. A quick glance over her shoulder, Jondy could see that something similar was happening to both Max and Zack as well. Jondy fell back into her fighting stance and carefully watched the men as they surrounded her. She made sure she knew where every weapon was, and where every man was taking a stance. As soon as the first one flinched, she was prepared and began the fight of her life.

*********************

Zack watched helplessly as the men surrounded Jondy. Soon, he couldn't see her anymore. His view was blocked by both the men surrounding her, as well as the melee that was about to occur in center court with Max and a bunch of guys. He could almost feel the wall next to him come alive with bodyguards and such. Before he could react however, the but end of a gun was brought down on the back of his neck, causing him to fall to his knees. He looked up to see four men with their weapons trained on his skull.

*********************

Max watched as the men circled her. She was able to count around ten, with more further back. "Come on guys, I know it's human nature to join a line when you see one, but do you really want to be in line to have your ass kicked?" The only response that she got was a swipe of a knife from one of the lead guys. As he lunged for her, she grabbed his arm and used his momentum to propel him into a couple of his buddies. "I guess you do." Max watched the next guy launch himself at her. Correctly guessing his timing, just as he was about to grab her, Max leaped into the air, and kicked her legs behind her, connecting with the man's head, sending him flying out the glass doors. _Thank god for Manticore genetics and their quick healing. Without them, there's no way my ribs would have been healed enough to do that. _Max's display of athleticism stunned the rest of the group for just a second, and she used that second to focus in on how her siblings were doing. Her heart tensed for a split second as she could hear silence coming from Zack's side of the room. She immediately eased a bit once she heard chaos erupt once again. Focusing in on Jondy, Max let out a small laugh. 

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"Didn't you ever learn that hitting a girl on the first date *isn't* going to get you any sex? I mean come on!" Jondy grabbed the lead man and threw him into a couple more, causing them all to land in a heap unconscious. Jondy swiped her hand across her face and felt the warm wetness of blood. Sniffling, she could taste the metallic liquid in her throat. She lunged forward and ripped the shirt off one of the men. She wiped her nose with it, thankful once again for her genes that allowed her to heal quickly. Her nose was already repairing itself, and had stopped bleeding. Looking at the man she had stolen the shirt from, Jondy raised an eyebrow as she swept her gaze over his chest. "You been working out there? Cause, damn!" Taking the chance given to her as he looked down at his own pecs, Jondy spun around and kicked him square in the ribs. She could feel a few of them give way, and as he clutched at the area, Jondy knew they were broken, and more than likely had punctured his lungs. Jondy looked over the area and could see only two more guys in her way. She looked at them and smiled. "So what, you guys want to feel the same kind of pain?" Jondy had to laugh as she watched the two look at each other and then run from the building, down the street, and off into the distance. "I thought not."

*********************

"Jeez, how many of you guys are there?" Max looked around and could only see more and more men coming from somewhere. She could hear the sounds of the fight to her left calming down, and she knew that Jondy would soon be joining her in her fight. 

Sure enough, Max, as well as several of the men, looked up to see Jondy, cartwheeling through the air. As she was upside down, Jondy grabbed the head of one of the men, and used her downward momentum to slam him to the ground. She backed up so that she was back to back with Max. "Who ever said Zack was a better fighter than me?"

Max grinned. "Not me little sister. Not me. But how about we finish these guys off and get my boyfriend out of here."

"You said it, not me." Jondy grabbed the fist that was aimed at her face, and quickly twisted the arm into a hold, effectively slamming the owner of the arm into the wall. Jondy leaned into his ear. "You know, it's not polite to interrupt a girl when she's talking." Jondy kicked backwards and felt her boot hit the soft area of a guy, that when hit, does a lot of damage. "And it's also not nice to have your friends sneak up on me when I'm talking." Jondy grabbed the hair of the guy that she was holding, pulled back, and slammed his head into the wall. She turned around to see Max finishing up on her two guys. As they finished, Zack finally came to help. "Where ya been bro?"

Zack raised an eyebrow. "My guys had guns."

"Sure, sure. Excuses, excuses." Jondy looked down at her nails. "Do you think we can hurry this up? I broke a nail back there and I really want to get back to the car where I left my nail file."

Max rolled her eyes at her sister as Jondy started to laugh. "Come on. I want to get this show on the road too." The three of them walked to the elevators and pressed the button. Luckily, one was readily available, and they all climbed in. As the doors were closing, all three heard the unmistakenable ring of a bell one floor up, announcing the arrival of the other elevator to the exit level. The elevator that carried Agents Travers and Joshua. None of the three paid much notice to the sound however, as they began their ascent to meet the man who seemed to know so much about them.

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Max looked up and watched the number slowing gaining. As they neared the top, she looked at her siblings. "Ok, I'm going after Logan. You two cover me, got it?"

Both Zack and Jondy nodded. As the bell rang, announcing their arrival, the three took a collective breath, and jumped out of the elevator as soon as it opened.

Max took a quick few seconds to get her bearings. Seeing that there was no way Logan was straight ahead, she took off towards her right. Behind her, she could hear her siblings. Almost instantly, they came upon a flight of stairs, ones which Silver was now slowly descending, clapping as he did.

"Very nice 452. I didn't think you'd figure it out this soon. You're smarter than I gave you credit for, which will fetch me a lot more money."

Max narrowed her eyes at the individual. "Who are you, and where's Logan."

"Very unobservant though. That might hurt me in the long run."

Max didn't understand the man's comment until she glanced to her side. There, in an old office, she could see Logan, tied to one of the chairs, barely conscious.

"That's right, there's your boyfriend, but that's all you're going to see of him. You see, I've been expecting you, and now that you're here, well, everything just works out perfectly."

Max took one last look at Logan, and then returned her attention to the man on the stairs. "That still doesn't explain who you are."

Silver reached the bottom of the stairs and walked right up to Max. Leaning into her ear, he whispered. "Andrew Silver. Learn it well, because that's the name of the man that finally captured you."

Max leaned back, as much to get Silver out of her personal space, as out of fear. Her fear was quickly replaced however, and she was about to grab Silver and hurt him as much as possible, when the room erupted in gun fire. Max looked behind Silver, as he did the same and she saw a few men running towards them, firing. Max took a quick look to see that Silver was distracted, and took her chance to dive into the office to get to Logan. She ran up to his chair, and leaned into his ear to whisper to him as she quickly untied him. "It's ok baby, I'm here, and I'm going to get you out of here."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Silver yelled and waved his arms in the air. "I don't want them dead! Stop shooting you idiots!" 

As soon as Silver spoke, the room became silent. No one moved. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Jondy could see Max drag Logan out of harms way, and down the stairs, the elevator long since gone on its descent to the ground floor. On her other side, she could see Zack moving towards taking care of the shooters, so she knew it was up to her to take on Silver. As they circled each other, Jondy could tell that this guy was going to give her some problems. The gun that was hidden beneath his coat that she could see occasionally wasn't helping her nerves either. But then again, the one that she had tucked in her pants was helping to calm her down a bit. Thrusting her chin towards him, Jondy finally spoke to Silver. "So what's the dealio with this water thing and capturing us?"

"You don't really expect me to tell you, do you?"

Jondy shrugged as she looked around her. "Well, by the looks of it, you've basically got us, and we don't have much time left here, so, why not?" Jondy then let out a little laugh. "I bet you lost a bundle on the water thing, didn't you."

Silver nodded. "I'll give you that. The truth serum didn't exactly go off as planned. It cost a hell of a lot more than it should have, and I didn't nearly get the gains out of it that I was expecting. It didn't help that Lydecker was sniffing around in my business either." Silver smiled and looked at the ground. "I got rid of that problem though."

Jondy raised her eyebrows at that. "You killed him?"

Silver looked back up at her. "Oh no. I'd never think of doing that. With him out there trying to find all of your siblings, and with my power, if he ever found one of you, I'd be able to get my hands on you so fast Lydecker would never know what hit him."

Jondy narrowed her eyes. "That's a shame. You killing him would have given you an extra point in my book. Well, maybe not a full point, but definitely a half point."

Silver smiled at her. "I'm glad you think so highly of me."

"Hey buddy, you didn't kill him, so you're still in the negative points in that book of mine."

Silver grinned at Jondy. "You're a lot sassier than I gave you credit for. I think a lot smarter too."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome. That knowledge of yours will give you a few extra days to live."

Jondy was confused again, but knowing that she finally had Silver talking, she kept asking questions. Maybe something useful would come out of his mouth before she had to shut it up for good. "A few extra days?"

Silver nodded. "With my buyers, they only want the best. And now, I can see that you're one of the best. Instead of simply using your body for experiments, they'll use your mind as well. It won't hurt as much. I read somewhere that the premature aging of bones is actually quite painful."

Jondy felt as though she was going to be sick, but she needed to know more. "But, why?"

"Why? Because, when I sell a few of you to my buyers, I stand to make a lot of money. And then, once we know how your brains work, I'll have you working for me. With the best of the best X5s completely under my control, the world is mine. Nothing can stop me."

"So basically this was all just an elaborate attempt to take over the world?"

"In a nutshell, yeah, that's right. And it's not just an attempt, it's a triumph, because you're here aren't you?"

"You won't win Silver."

"Oh, I think I already have."

Jondy took a quick glance over at Zack, and that's when Silver attacked, or rather, his bodyguard that had appeared beside him attacked. Jondy was totally taken off guard by his sudden appearance, but as soon as he grabbed her around her neck, and pulled her off the ground, she attacked. Kicking downwards, she lodged her boot into the guard's knee, causing him to drop her. As soon as she was free, she jammed her thumbs into his eyes, blinding him to her attack on every guy's weak spot. As he fell to the ground, Jondy remembered Silver, and saw him reaching for his gun. She reached for her gun, but only grasped air. During her fight with the guard, it had fallen out of her pants, and was now on the floor. With her super human speed, Jondy lunged for it, and whipped around, holding her gun out, coming face to face with Silver. Both of them had their guns trained on the other's head.

Silver allowed a wicked grin to play across his lips. "Well, it looks like we have a standoff."

Jondy tilted her head and bit, and narrowed her eyes. Without even flinching, she pulled the trigger on her gun. She closed her eyes to block them from the spray of blood. When she opened them, she walked over to the body now laying on the ground in front of her. With the cold steely eyes of a killer, Jondy spoke to the body. "I don't do stand-offs." Jondy jumped when she felt a hand lay on her shoulder. She whipped around, ready to fire again, but whoever it was, ripped the gun out of her grasp.

"Jondy."

Jondy shook her head and snapped out of her soldier mode. "Let's go."

Zack nodded, and led Jondy to the stairs. They made their way down in complete silence. Once they reached ground level, the two quickly began looking for Max and Logan. As they stepped outside, they saw the two of them leaning on each other for support.

Max looked up as Jondy and Zack made their way out of the building. "Let's say we get out of here. Sound good?"

"It's got my vote. Come on Zack, let's hot wire that car over there. It's lookin' pretty nice to me." Jondy grabbed Zack by the hand and led him over to a car, leaving Max and Logan to themselves.

Logan tried to get his brain to focus, but it absolutely refused to do so. He looked to the person holding him up, and right away he knew who it was. "Max."

Max turned her face to Logan. "It's ok baby, I got you now. Just hold on for a couple more seconds, and then you can sleep all you want in the car. We're going home."

"Aiight, it's not my idea of a dope ride, but it'll have to do. Besides, it'll give you two room to snuggle in the back."

Max looked up at Jondy who was leaning out the driver's side window, and shook her head. A grin worked its way across her face even with everything that she had been through. Instead of her normal sarcastic reply, Max simply agreed with Jondy. "Damn straight. Now let's get the hell out of here, and back home." Max balanced Logan as she opened up the back door. She helped him get in, and then slid in beside him. As Jondy peeled out of town like there was no tomorrow, Max could feel herself drifting into sleep, as the warm body of her lover was safe beside her.

Jondy looked into the rearview mirror, and then over to Zack. "Ya gotta admit, they're kind of cute together."

Zack only grunted.

"Ah come on. Look on the bright side, at least Max didn't kill you."

Zack looked over at Jondy and let a small laugh escape his lips. "You're very right there baby sister. Very right."

Jondy smiled and looked off into the distance. They had a long trip ahead of them, but it would be alright, because everything was right in the world for the four of them for the time being.


	11. Epilogue

A/N- Well, as I make this speech, I can almost hear the echo in the room. I'm feeling neglected with the lack of reviews. ;) Nah, it's ok. I understand people are busy. School sucks, but at least I'm done for another semester. :) 

Anyways, here is the final installment of Haunted Truths. I'm done with this one. It was fun to write, but it had to end somewhere.

So, this final chapter goes out to all those people who actually stuck with me through my droughts of little writing. ;) And especially Aimee who made sure I finished it. :) I hope you've all liked reading this, and well, enjoy the final chapter.

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One Week Later:

"You're never going to get away with this you know."

Jondy leaned out of the driver's side window of her recently 'acquired' silver BMW. "Hey. All I have to do is get out of the city, and this car is officially mine."

Max and Logan just shook their heads. 

Max looked the car over and nodded approvingly. "Girl, I hate to say it, but I have to admit this is a sweet ride." 

Jondy grinned. "You're tellin' me! Why do you think I swung with this one? It's totally my stilo!"

Logan grinned at her. "I'll have to agree with you on that one for sure."

Max looked at Logan as he talked to her sister and then turned to Jondy as well. "So what happened to Zack?"

Jondy shrugged. "I don't know, and frankly I don't care because, well, I have a new car!" Jondy gripped the steering wheel and bounced up and down in her seat to a beat that could only be heard by her.

Max and Logan laughed, and took turns leaning in to give Jondy a hug. "You take care baby sister."

"Of course!" Jondy looked down the road ahead of her. "But, if you two don't mind, I'm gonna blaze."

Max chuckled. "Aiight girl, but you gotta come visit."

"I wouldn't miss Logan's cooking for the world." Jondy looked up at Logan and smiled. "See ya babe." Jondy cranked the music in her car, and the heavy beats of the pre-pulse rapper Eve, could be heard for several blocks before they faded.

Max and Logan watched after Jondy for awhile and then began to walk down the street holding hands. Logan smiled as he thought over the last few days, but was brought out of his thoughts with Max's voice.

"Oh my god."

"What?"

Max pointed towards a couple who were making out in the middle of the street. "Look at those kids. They've only got to be like 13 or 14. They're not old enough to be doing that."

Logan looked at the couple in the street, and then looked over at Max. "True, but a good idea, is a good idea."

Max turned to look at Logan, confusion marring her face. Realization dawned however, when Logan roughly shoved her up against a car. She looked up at him and smiled.

Logan bent down and captured Max's mouth with his own. Soon, his hands were roaming, much as the hands of the male in the middle of the street were doing. Both he and Max completely forgot about the world around them until they heard someone shout behind them.

"Hey you two! Why don't you get a room! None of us need to be seein' that in the middle of the day!"

Max pulled away from Logan's mouth, and laid her forehead on his shoulder. Then suddenly she tensed as she looked up.

Logan carefully turned around to see what had gotten into Max. He too tensed when he saw the raised eyebrows on the couple's faces that were standing in front of him. "Cindy.....Kendra.....how're you two girls doing today?"

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Agent Travers quickly locked the door behind him, and turned each one of the five deadlocks in their place. He then ran over to the window, drew the blinds, and closed the curtains. He only turned on one light in the entire room, and then slowly walked to the bed. He sat down on it and began to giggle. Soon, his giggles turned into laughs. Looking down at the file in his hands, he realized that he would never have to worry about money again. He would never have to worry about finding another job, or having to live in the depression that was America. He could flee the country, and no one would ever come looking for him. He was safe, and it was all because of the file that he held in his hands. The file that was worth millions to thousands of people, and no one knew about it except him. Joshua may have presented a problem, but her being locked up in the mental ward where no one believed her was a fortuitous situation. Travers could never have predicted her addiction to LSD, and when her supplier had given her the wrong pills, her body went into serious withdraw, and will more than likely kill her. Going cold turkey with that kind of addiction doesn't exactly work all that well. Travers smiled once again at his good fortune and brushed his hand over the closed file. He slid a finger between the folds, opened it up and a warmth filled his body as he read the first line.

__

This file contains all known information about the life and family of Logan Cale, AKA Eyes Only.

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End****


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